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Objective: Integration of general medical and mental health services is a growing priority for safety-net providers. The authors describe a project that established a one-year learning collaborative focused on integration of services between community health centers (CHCs) and community mental health centers (CMHCs). Specific targets were treatment for general medical and psychiatric symptoms related to depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol use disorders, and metabolic syndrome. Methods: This observational study used mixed methods. Quantitative measures included 15 patient-level health indicators, practice self-assessment of resources and support for chronic disease self-management, and participant satisfaction. Results: Sixteen CHC-CMHC pairs were selected for the learning collaborative series. One pair dropped out because of personnel turnover. All teams increased capacity on one or more patient health indicators. CHCs scored higher than CMHCs on support for chronic disease self-management. Participation in the learning collaborative increased self-assessment scores for CHCs and CMHCs. Participant satisfaction was high. Observations by faculty indicate that quality improvement challenges included tracking patient-level outcomes, workforce issues, and crossagency communication. Conclusions: Even though numerous systemic barriers were encountered, the findings support existing literature indicating that the learning collaborative is a viable quality improvement approach for enhancing integration of general medical and mental health services between CHCs and CMHCs. Real-world implementation of evidence-based guidelines presents challenges often absent in research. Technical resources and support, a stable workforce with adequate training, and adequate opportunities for collaborator communications are particular challenges for integrating behavioral and general medical services across CHCs and CMHCs. (Psychiatric Services 62:753–758, 2011)

Objective: This study provides national data on community mental health centers’ (CMHCs’) capacity to screen for and address their clients’ general medical conditions. Methods: A survey was distributed to members of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the oldest and largest association of CMHCs. Results: Among the 181 CMHCs responding to the survey, more than two-thirds reported having protocols or procedures to screen for common medical problems (hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, and diabetes). However, only one-half could provide treatment or referral for those conditions, and less than one-third could provide general medical services on site. Barriers to providing general medical services included problems in reimbursement, workforce limitations, physical plant constraints (for example, lack of available space or equipment), and lack of options for referrals to local community medical providers. Conclusions: Although most CMHCs had the capacity to screen for common medical conditions, they reported a variety of barriers to providing medical care for those problems either on site or via referral. (Psychiatric Services 59:917–920, 2008)