Characteristics of Patients Who Attended Behavioral Health Services After Primary Care Referral With Referral Management Support.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined whether documented disparities in access to behavioral health specialty care persisted in a novel integrated primary care model situated in a large health system when triage and referral management supports were provided by a centralized resource center for patients with behavioral health needs.

METHODS

Patients triaged and referred to specialty behavioral health care who did or did not attend a specialty care visit (N=1,450) were compared in terms of various demographic and clinical characteristics by using binary logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among patients with attendance data, financially unstable individuals were more likely than financially stable counterparts to miss their first appointment with a specialty behavioral health provider after referral from primary care. Previously documented attendance disparities based on race, ethnicity, and illness severity were not observed.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings can inform targeted strategies to increase attendance among patients with financial insecurity and reduce disparities in outpatient behavioral health services.