The BHCs at Cherokee are increasingly used for self-management goal development and medication adherence. BHCs also play a role in well-child exams where they regularly use developmental milestone templates as guides to ensuring appropriate domains are assessed.

Cherokee encourages nurses and clinicians to work together with the patient to create self-management goals. The incorporation of BHCs into the primary care team allows the vast majority of patients to receive follow up and brief targeted interventions in the primary care setting.

Through this integration, Cherokee is able to systematically screen its entire population for behavioral health needs.

Behavioral Health Consultants in the Primary Care TeamĪt Cherokee, behavioral health consultants (BHCs) are members of the primary care team and routinely address behavioral health needs in the primary care setting. In addition to checking patient blood pressure, height, and weight, nurses conduct patient screenings for depression, substance use, and other relevant behavioral health conditions as part of their typical triage, using the screening tools that are embedded in Cherokee’s electronic health system. If there is a positive screening, the primary care provider will inform the BHC, and the BHC will come in to see the patient. By emphasizing behavioral health integration, Cherokee strives to apply the Patient-Centered Medical Home model across all its sites. Cherokee Health Systems is both a community mental health center (CMHC) and a federally qualified health center (FQHC) in East Tennessee that embeds behavioral health care providers in its primary care clinics.

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