Primary

The Primary Care Outreach Program provides time-sensitive, clinically supported resources for primary and specialty care settings to facilitate routine screening for depression, anxiety, and alcohol problems. The objective of this program is to strengthen patient and provider communication around mental health issues that are often overlooked in medical settings even though studies show they can impact medical outcomes.

Program kits are provided which include screening and clinical training materials, as well as patient education materials suitable for a reception or waiting room area. Clinicians can use these complimentary materials throughout the year, and/or to coincide with SMH’s national campaigns:

National Depression Screening Day® (NDSD). Today almost 50 percent of patients receive mental health care through their primary care provider. Health care clinicians need to be well informed about the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders and how to go about treating these conditions. NDSD occurs in October each year.

National Alcohol Screening Day® (NASD). Alcohol screening can act as a brief intervention enabling family practitioners to identify and direct at-risk individuals for treatment as well as educate their patients in general. NASD occurs in April each year.

SMH’s Primary Care Outreach programs is supported by organizations such as the American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Nearly 20,000 primary care clinicians have participated in SMH’s Primary Care Outreach since its inception in 1998.