Behavioral Health Integration and Training — A Model to Extend the Reach of Psychiatry

A majority (60% to 80%) of nursing home residents have one or more psychiatric diagnoses, including dementia (Med Care Res Rev 2010;67:627–656). And post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) residents take an astonishing number of psychoactive medications, most prescribed by nonpsychiatrists for a variety of indications (J Gerontol Soc Work 2012;55:444–461). Finding the best model to provide meaningful psychiatric services in PALTC, however, is a perennial struggle (Psychiatr Serv 2002;53:1390–1396).