National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
Danish Ministry of Health
VHA and the Danish Ministry of Health Discuss the Challenges and Benefits of Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI)
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Danish Ministry of Health are teaming up to examine pain points in health care and share lessons learned. During a webinar on April 25th, VHA and Danish experts discussed the challenges and benefits of integrating mental health into primary care.
The stateside participants included Dr. Angela Denietolis, executive director of VHA’s Office of Primary Care, who oversees 7,000 primary care providers across VA medical centers. Also participating was Dr. Edward Post, a senior advisor to the director of VHA’s primary care operations, and Dr. Jennifer Patterson, the national director for integrated services at the VHA’s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, who has oversight into how mental health is integrated into VA medical centers’ primary care services.
Ultimately, they noted that improving mental health care for patients, including Veterans, can save lives.
“We can't emphasize enough the role that suicide prevention plays in the work that we do, and it's something that we all own, whether it's the mental health continuum of care or across the continuum of care of our entire system,” said VA’s Dr. Patterson.
Dr. Jens Sondergaard -- a professor and director of Research Unites for General Practice in Odense, Denmark – also joined. He noted that Danes typically access mental health care through their primary care doctors, who are held to high training standards and coordinate a patient’s care with specialists and hospitals.
Additionally, Dr. Sondergaard noted a few other actions Danish primary care physicians take to help improve their patient’s health outcomes:
- They no longer use faxes or paper records. Transitioning to digital records only speeds up data sharing and patient’s access to services
- They can call a psychiatrist or psychologist for advice during an appointment
- They coordinate health care for chronic illnesses and dental work as well to treat the patient holistically
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Dr. Patterson discussed the importance of referring patients to supplementary care services in addition to routine mental health services to ensure patients can access mental health care the same day as they request it, or a provider recommends it. In addition to this immediate care, it is crucial that patients’ health care providers collaborate as a team to address issues like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and more. All together, these services are part of VHA’s Primary Care - Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) approach for Veterans.
Generations of Veterans have different views on mental healthcare; older generations tend to be reserved when it comes to utilizing mental healthcare services.
“I’ve personally heard Veterans say this to me, ‘Oh, the younger ones need it more than I do. I’ll be fine. I can live with whatever it is, and I’ll let other Veterans take my place.’” said Dr. Angela Denietolis. “And they probably delay care, delay diagnoses, even because of that stoicism.”
Meanwhile, VHA's Dr. Post shared that he’s seen young Veterans be “excellent self-advocates" but often have a strong preference for telehealth and video services versus coming to a VA medical center in person.
This international, virtual webinar is the first in a series on Veterans’ health care, which is planned to continue this summer.
To read more about partnerships facilitated by VHA’s National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships, please visit https://www.va.gov/HEALTHPARTNERSHIPS/index.asp
External Link Disclaimer: This page contains links that will take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked websites.
Posted July 21, 2022
