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Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) position statement: SBM supports increased efforts to integrate community health workers into the patient-centered medical home

  • Practice and Public Health Policies
  • Published:
Translational Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Integrating community health workers (CHWs) into health care systems has been associated with enhanced patient experience, improved population health, and reduced costs and unnecessary utilization of resources. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), care provided by CHWs is eligible for reimbursement. However, optimal integration of CHWs into health care requires purposeful implementation. This health policy brief is focused on the benefits of integrating CHWs specifically into the patient-centered medical home (PCMH). CHWs in the PCMH can serve as primary providers of culturally relevant information and advocacy, assist providers in understanding the influence of patients’ environment on disease management, and enhance motivation for self-care management among patients with chronic diseases. Despite the important role of CHWs, there are some barriers to integration into existing systems of care. The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) recommends overcoming these barriers by establishing standards that ensure a skilled CHW workforce, clearly defining roles for CHWs, and expanding the scope of reimbursable prevention and primary care services to include those provided by CHWs.

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References

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript was supported in part by PCORI Contract No. IH-12-11-5420, US Department of Veterans Affairs RCS 98–352, and the National Cancer Institute under award number R25CA057699. DMH was supported by PCORI and US Department of Veterans Affairs. JB was supported by the National Cancer Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of PCORI, US Department of Veterans Affairs, or the National Institutes of Health. The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the expert review provided by the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Health Policy Committee, Health Policy Council, and the Integrated Primary Care Special Interest Group.

Conflict of interest

Denise M. Hynes, Joanna Buscemi, and Lisa M. Quintiliani declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Compliance with ethical standards

All procedures were conducted in accordance with ethical standards.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Edward Hines Jr Veterans Administration Hospital, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Denise M. Hynes Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N.

  2. University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Joanna Buscemi Ph.D.

  3. Boston University, Boston, USA

    Lisa M. Quintiliani Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Denise M. Hynes Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N.
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  2. Joanna Buscemi Ph.D.
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  3. Lisa M. Quintiliani Ph.D.
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Consortia

on behalf of the Society of Behavioral Medicine Health Policy Committee

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanna Buscemi Ph.D..

Additional information

Implications

Practice: Health professionals providing care in PCMHs should be required to receive training on interprofessional collaboration, including training on specific roles of each team member and clear intervention protocols and referral processes for CHWs.

Policy: Policymakers should expand the scope of reimbursable prevention and primary care services to include those provided by CHWs.

Research: Further research is needed to evaluate specific protocols for integrating CHWs into the PCMH.

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Hynes, D.M., Buscemi, J., Quintiliani, L.M. et al. Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) position statement: SBM supports increased efforts to integrate community health workers into the patient-centered medical home. Behav. Med. Pract. Policy Res. 5, 483–485 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0340-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13142-015-0340-1

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