Building upon the success of the integrated healthcare model, Bayless Healthcare Group has taken steps to increase its emphasis of treating physical care with mental health. The Arizona-based business launched its Adult Primary Care extension earlier this month and recently opened the doors to its Therapeutic Wellness Center across the street from its midtown Phoenix facility.
“Mental health is primary care,” says Bayless Healthcare Group CEO Justin Bayless. “Several studies report that 70 to 75 percent of primary care visits have a psychosocial basis.”
The healthcare market and related services are rapidly changing nationally and locally with the continued evolution of the uncertain future of the Affordable Care Act. This legislation created radical changes to the Medicaid, Medicare, commercial (HMO/PPO) and employer benefit landscape.
“We recognize that only 20 percent of patients referred by external primary care groups make it to specialized behavioral health appointments,” says Bayless.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that 55 percent of medical visits are for primary care but only 5 percent of healthcare spending in the U.S. This is where Bayless Healthcare Group makes an impact in the community. Research shows there was a 9 percent decrease of physicians in Maricopa County in 2015, creating the opportunity for Bayless to positively respond to the increase in patients needing healthcare with a lessening supply of providers in the community.
“There is a tremendous human capital expense occurring by not integrating mental health and primary care especially with large aging population, such as Baby Boomers, and Millennials that are exposed to higher levels of stress in society and less human connectivity,” Bayless adds.
Research by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests every U.S. dollar invested in mental health treatment can quadruple returns in work productivity. Mental health continues to live in the shadows of physical health check-ups, despite most chronic physical issues being accompanied by mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.
WHO reports 615 million people are affected by depression or anxiety. Improving labor force participation as well as overall health (mental and physical, combined) could add more than $700 billion to the global economy, according to the organization.
Bayless Healthcare Group is one of the largest private providers of healthcare services to the community with four clinical locations in Maricopa County. Since opening in 1982, Bayless has been responding to the need for integrated behavioral health services across the Valley and ranks among the state’s leading privatized healthcare provider groups. For more information on Bayless Healthcare Group, visit www.baylesshealthcare.com.
