PNPs integrate behavioral, mental health in PC practice

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Concerns about mental health (MH) care delivery for children are repeatedly identified by health care providers, described in the literature, and addressed through advocacy. Unfortunately, health inequities continue to exist, including the social stigma of an MH diagnosis, lower reimbursement for MH compared with medical care, and poor access to expert pediatric behavioral health providers. This is especially true for families living below the poverty line, who are more likely to have MH problems.1

AlexRaths/Thinkstock

An estimated 50% of primary care (PC) pediatric visits involve an MH or behavioral problem, yet only about 20% of these patients receive services.2 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of seven children aged 2-8 years has a developmental or behavioral disorder.3 In children aged 3-17 years, 7% have ADHD, 2% have depressive disorders, and 3% have anxiety.3 In the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey, more than 29% of high school respondents stated that they felt so sad or hopeless during the past 12 months that they had stopped some of their usual activities, and 18% considered suicide.4 The incidence of violent acts committed by and affecting teens adds a critical need for creative provision of pediatric MH care.

MH integration in pediatric PC, supported by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, and many others is an avenue to provide quality MH services for children.5,6,7 In a coordinated or colocated model, a behavioral health specialist works with a pediatric provider either in consultation with the practice (coordinated) or in the same practice site where patients are referred (colocated).7 The collaborative care model places pediatric medical providers with care managers or behavioral health specialists to deliver care in one practice setting.

Dr. Cathy Haut

The use of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) with advanced training in MH care is described in the literature as a different type of collaborative care model.8,9,10 PNPs assess, diagnose, and treat using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies. PNPs may offer evidence-based psychotherapy or refer for psychotherapy or parenting skills development. Those who have added knowledge and skills in MH care may seek validation of these competencies through completion of added certification as pediatric PC MH specialists (PMHS).11 Since 2011, there are more than 400 PMHSs certified in the United States. PNPs with expertise in MH are a solution to addressing the growing need for access to high quality care for children and adolescents in PC settings. We share examples of services provided by PNPs across the United States.
 

At a federally qualified health center

Dawn Garzon Maaks, PhD, CPNP-PC, the current president of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, is certified as a PMHS and works in a federally-qualified health center in southwest Washington State. This center provides lifespan services for patients, with separate office spaces for MH/psychiatric care and PC. Within this colocated environment, Dr. Garzon Maaks spends about 75% of her time caring for children with developmental, behavioral, and MH problems in the MH clinic and 25% in the PC office, providing health maintenance and acute episodic care. She collaborates with psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners by adding pediatric developmental and medical expertise and is welcomed by providers who have limited experience caring for children. While providing PC, she educates about issues such as resiliency, screening for substance abuse, and treatment of common pediatric mood disorders and ADHD. Her expertise also allows for MH care integration into PC visits, taking away the “stigma” which still is pervasive for patients referred to MH providers.

 

 

Dr. Dawn Garzon Maaks

“What my position has taught me is that when primary and mental health care providers work closely, it improves outcomes for all patients seen. Through frequent consultation, our primary care physicians have increasing skills in caring for children with mild mental health issues, thus freeing up the mental health people to deal with the more significant cases. On the other hand, our mental health providers benefit from having the primary care expertise in diagnosing and treating common conditions that mimic mental health issues. This integration also significantly reduces stigma because families see their mental health professional in the primary care setting,” Dr. Garzon Maaks said.
 

At an urban/suburban PC practice

alexsokolov/Thinkstock

Another PNP MH expert, Dr. Susan Van Cleve, is certified as a PMHS and works as a subspecialist within an urban/suburban pediatric PC practice. Her team is composed of two PNPs and one registered nurse who is designated as the full time MH coordinator. This team cares for children and teens with mild to moderate MH disorders from within the practice. The registered nurse performs intake interviews, schedules patients, and sends out screening tools before visits and is available to families and providers in the practice on a dedicated phone line. She refers complex patients to local providers for more comprehensive care and follows them to ensure that appointments and referrals are made. Scheduling with the PNPs allows for longer appointments, comprehensive treatment including medication management if warranted, and close follow-up care. Patient types seen include those with concerns about developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, disruptive behavior, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Children or teens with more severe disorders are referred to colleagues in psychiatry or counseling services, or to pediatric or adolescent subspecialists in the community.

Dr. Susan Van Cleve

“The children and families I see seem to feel comfortable because our behavioral team is embedded in the pediatric practice, and we use the same office space. Families have easy access to our full-time registered nurse who is available to answer questions, provide resources and advice, lend support, or assist navigating the health system. This type of system increases access, enables us to provide comprehensive family-centered care, and supports the child and family,” said Dr. Van Cleve, clinical professor and primary care pediatric nurse practitioner program director at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City.
 

As an educator

Naomi A. Schapiro, PhD, CPNP, is a professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, and a PNP at a school-based health center with an integrated behavioral health model, managed by a federally qualified health center in a medically underserved area. She is the principle investigator of an Advanced Nursing Education Health Resources Service Administration grant supporting interprofessional training and practice collaboration to improve care and reduce health inequities for disadvantaged children and adolescents coping with both behavioral health conditions and chronic physical conditions, including obesity.11

Dr. Schapiro collaborates with a multidisciplinary, multi-university team, a local children’s hospital, a social work training program, and the county health care services agency to develop and implement a training program for pediatric PC providers to increase skills and self-confidence implementing American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines assessing and treating depression, ADHD, anxiety and trauma-related symptoms; triaging patients with nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation; and recognizing and referring patients with bipolar disorder and psychosis. These training modules are currently being recorded for online posting. As part of this interprofessional collaboration, Dr. Schapiro and her colleagues developed a “warmline” for decision support, staffed by a psychiatrist and two nurse practitioners available to PC providers in a network of 29 school-based health centers and two pediatric practices for complex decision making about medications or diagnostic dilemmas. Efforts are underway to continue and expand this program.

 

 

Dr. Naomi A. Schapiro

“As a faculty teaching PNP students enhanced behavioral health assessment skills, I have been proudest when students have been able to apply and disseminate these skills,” Dr. Schapiro said. “One of our recent PNP graduates was in a community primary care practicum when an adolescent thinking about suicide walked into the clinic with her father. Her preceptor wasn’t sure how to proceed, when the student said, ‘Wait! We just practiced this in class.’ The student pulled up her course website, and she and her preceptor walked through the assessment together, developed a safety plan with the teen and her father, and connected the teen with a therapist, avoiding an unnecessary ER visit and potential fragmentation of care.”

The need and expectation that pediatric PC providers incorporate MH services is well documented.2,12,13 PNPs who have additional training and expertise in assessing, diagnosing, and managing MH care are an excellent solution for addressing this problem. The benefits of this team-based approach to the pediatric health care home include decreasing stigma, increasing access, and providing comprehensive MH care to children and their families.
 

Dr. Haut works at Beacon Pediatrics, a large primary care practice in Rehoboth Beach, Del. She works part-time for Pediatrix Medical Group, serving the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit medical team at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore, and she serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, also in Baltimore. Other contributors to this article were Dawn Garzon Maaks, PhD, CPNP, PMHS; Naomi Schapiro, PhD, CPNP; Susan Van Cleve, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC, PMHS; and Laura Searcy, MN, APRN, PPCNP-BC. Ms. Searcy is on the medical staff at WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta, Ga., delivering care to newborns. Dr. Haut and Ms. Searcy are members of the Pediatric News Consultant Advisory Board. Email them at [email protected].

References

1. “Best principles for integration of child psychiatry into the pediatric health home,” AACAP Executive Summary,2012, pages 1-13.

2. Pediatrics. 2009 Apr;123(4):1248-51.

3. Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Children’s Mental Health Data and Statistics.

4. MMWR Surveill Summ, 2016. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6506a1.

5. Pediatrics. 2015;135(5):909-17.

6. JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(10):929-37.

7. “Integrating child psychology services into primary care,” by Tynan D, Woods K, and Carpenter J. American Psychological Association, 2014.

8. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2005;11(5): 276-82.

9. J Nurse Pract. 2013;9(4):243-8.

10. J Pediatr Health Care. 2013; 27(3):162-3.

11. Advanced Nursing Education Health Resources Service Administration grant (#D09HP26958).

12. J Nurse Pract. 2013:9(3):142-8.

13. Pediatrics. 2018;141(3):e20174082

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Concerns about mental health (MH) care delivery for children are repeatedly identified by health care providers, described in the literature, and addressed through advocacy. Unfortunately, health inequities continue to exist, including the social stigma of an MH diagnosis, lower reimbursement for MH compared with medical care, and poor access to expert pediatric behavioral health providers. This is especially true for families living below the poverty line, who are more likely to have MH problems.1

AlexRaths/Thinkstock

An estimated 50% of primary care (PC) pediatric visits involve an MH or behavioral problem, yet only about 20% of these patients receive services.2 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of seven children aged 2-8 years has a developmental or behavioral disorder.3 In children aged 3-17 years, 7% have ADHD, 2% have depressive disorders, and 3% have anxiety.3 In the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey, more than 29% of high school respondents stated that they felt so sad or hopeless during the past 12 months that they had stopped some of their usual activities, and 18% considered suicide.4 The incidence of violent acts committed by and affecting teens adds a critical need for creative provision of pediatric MH care.

MH integration in pediatric PC, supported by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, and many others is an avenue to provide quality MH services for children.5,6,7 In a coordinated or colocated model, a behavioral health specialist works with a pediatric provider either in consultation with the practice (coordinated) or in the same practice site where patients are referred (colocated).7 The collaborative care model places pediatric medical providers with care managers or behavioral health specialists to deliver care in one practice setting.

Dr. Cathy Haut

The use of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) with advanced training in MH care is described in the literature as a different type of collaborative care model.8,9,10 PNPs assess, diagnose, and treat using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies. PNPs may offer evidence-based psychotherapy or refer for psychotherapy or parenting skills development. Those who have added knowledge and skills in MH care may seek validation of these competencies through completion of added certification as pediatric PC MH specialists (PMHS).11 Since 2011, there are more than 400 PMHSs certified in the United States. PNPs with expertise in MH are a solution to addressing the growing need for access to high quality care for children and adolescents in PC settings. We share examples of services provided by PNPs across the United States.
 

At a federally qualified health center

Dawn Garzon Maaks, PhD, CPNP-PC, the current president of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, is certified as a PMHS and works in a federally-qualified health center in southwest Washington State. This center provides lifespan services for patients, with separate office spaces for MH/psychiatric care and PC. Within this colocated environment, Dr. Garzon Maaks spends about 75% of her time caring for children with developmental, behavioral, and MH problems in the MH clinic and 25% in the PC office, providing health maintenance and acute episodic care. She collaborates with psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners by adding pediatric developmental and medical expertise and is welcomed by providers who have limited experience caring for children. While providing PC, she educates about issues such as resiliency, screening for substance abuse, and treatment of common pediatric mood disorders and ADHD. Her expertise also allows for MH care integration into PC visits, taking away the “stigma” which still is pervasive for patients referred to MH providers.

 

 

Dr. Dawn Garzon Maaks

“What my position has taught me is that when primary and mental health care providers work closely, it improves outcomes for all patients seen. Through frequent consultation, our primary care physicians have increasing skills in caring for children with mild mental health issues, thus freeing up the mental health people to deal with the more significant cases. On the other hand, our mental health providers benefit from having the primary care expertise in diagnosing and treating common conditions that mimic mental health issues. This integration also significantly reduces stigma because families see their mental health professional in the primary care setting,” Dr. Garzon Maaks said.
 

At an urban/suburban PC practice

alexsokolov/Thinkstock

Another PNP MH expert, Dr. Susan Van Cleve, is certified as a PMHS and works as a subspecialist within an urban/suburban pediatric PC practice. Her team is composed of two PNPs and one registered nurse who is designated as the full time MH coordinator. This team cares for children and teens with mild to moderate MH disorders from within the practice. The registered nurse performs intake interviews, schedules patients, and sends out screening tools before visits and is available to families and providers in the practice on a dedicated phone line. She refers complex patients to local providers for more comprehensive care and follows them to ensure that appointments and referrals are made. Scheduling with the PNPs allows for longer appointments, comprehensive treatment including medication management if warranted, and close follow-up care. Patient types seen include those with concerns about developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, disruptive behavior, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Children or teens with more severe disorders are referred to colleagues in psychiatry or counseling services, or to pediatric or adolescent subspecialists in the community.

Dr. Susan Van Cleve

“The children and families I see seem to feel comfortable because our behavioral team is embedded in the pediatric practice, and we use the same office space. Families have easy access to our full-time registered nurse who is available to answer questions, provide resources and advice, lend support, or assist navigating the health system. This type of system increases access, enables us to provide comprehensive family-centered care, and supports the child and family,” said Dr. Van Cleve, clinical professor and primary care pediatric nurse practitioner program director at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City.
 

As an educator

Naomi A. Schapiro, PhD, CPNP, is a professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, and a PNP at a school-based health center with an integrated behavioral health model, managed by a federally qualified health center in a medically underserved area. She is the principle investigator of an Advanced Nursing Education Health Resources Service Administration grant supporting interprofessional training and practice collaboration to improve care and reduce health inequities for disadvantaged children and adolescents coping with both behavioral health conditions and chronic physical conditions, including obesity.11

Dr. Schapiro collaborates with a multidisciplinary, multi-university team, a local children’s hospital, a social work training program, and the county health care services agency to develop and implement a training program for pediatric PC providers to increase skills and self-confidence implementing American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines assessing and treating depression, ADHD, anxiety and trauma-related symptoms; triaging patients with nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation; and recognizing and referring patients with bipolar disorder and psychosis. These training modules are currently being recorded for online posting. As part of this interprofessional collaboration, Dr. Schapiro and her colleagues developed a “warmline” for decision support, staffed by a psychiatrist and two nurse practitioners available to PC providers in a network of 29 school-based health centers and two pediatric practices for complex decision making about medications or diagnostic dilemmas. Efforts are underway to continue and expand this program.

 

 

Dr. Naomi A. Schapiro

“As a faculty teaching PNP students enhanced behavioral health assessment skills, I have been proudest when students have been able to apply and disseminate these skills,” Dr. Schapiro said. “One of our recent PNP graduates was in a community primary care practicum when an adolescent thinking about suicide walked into the clinic with her father. Her preceptor wasn’t sure how to proceed, when the student said, ‘Wait! We just practiced this in class.’ The student pulled up her course website, and she and her preceptor walked through the assessment together, developed a safety plan with the teen and her father, and connected the teen with a therapist, avoiding an unnecessary ER visit and potential fragmentation of care.”

The need and expectation that pediatric PC providers incorporate MH services is well documented.2,12,13 PNPs who have additional training and expertise in assessing, diagnosing, and managing MH care are an excellent solution for addressing this problem. The benefits of this team-based approach to the pediatric health care home include decreasing stigma, increasing access, and providing comprehensive MH care to children and their families.
 

Dr. Haut works at Beacon Pediatrics, a large primary care practice in Rehoboth Beach, Del. She works part-time for Pediatrix Medical Group, serving the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit medical team at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore, and she serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, also in Baltimore. Other contributors to this article were Dawn Garzon Maaks, PhD, CPNP, PMHS; Naomi Schapiro, PhD, CPNP; Susan Van Cleve, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC, PMHS; and Laura Searcy, MN, APRN, PPCNP-BC. Ms. Searcy is on the medical staff at WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta, Ga., delivering care to newborns. Dr. Haut and Ms. Searcy are members of the Pediatric News Consultant Advisory Board. Email them at [email protected].

References

1. “Best principles for integration of child psychiatry into the pediatric health home,” AACAP Executive Summary,2012, pages 1-13.

2. Pediatrics. 2009 Apr;123(4):1248-51.

3. Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Children’s Mental Health Data and Statistics.

4. MMWR Surveill Summ, 2016. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6506a1.

5. Pediatrics. 2015;135(5):909-17.

6. JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(10):929-37.

7. “Integrating child psychology services into primary care,” by Tynan D, Woods K, and Carpenter J. American Psychological Association, 2014.

8. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2005;11(5): 276-82.

9. J Nurse Pract. 2013;9(4):243-8.

10. J Pediatr Health Care. 2013; 27(3):162-3.

11. Advanced Nursing Education Health Resources Service Administration grant (#D09HP26958).

12. J Nurse Pract. 2013:9(3):142-8.

13. Pediatrics. 2018;141(3):e20174082

 

Concerns about mental health (MH) care delivery for children are repeatedly identified by health care providers, described in the literature, and addressed through advocacy. Unfortunately, health inequities continue to exist, including the social stigma of an MH diagnosis, lower reimbursement for MH compared with medical care, and poor access to expert pediatric behavioral health providers. This is especially true for families living below the poverty line, who are more likely to have MH problems.1

AlexRaths/Thinkstock

An estimated 50% of primary care (PC) pediatric visits involve an MH or behavioral problem, yet only about 20% of these patients receive services.2 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of seven children aged 2-8 years has a developmental or behavioral disorder.3 In children aged 3-17 years, 7% have ADHD, 2% have depressive disorders, and 3% have anxiety.3 In the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey, more than 29% of high school respondents stated that they felt so sad or hopeless during the past 12 months that they had stopped some of their usual activities, and 18% considered suicide.4 The incidence of violent acts committed by and affecting teens adds a critical need for creative provision of pediatric MH care.

MH integration in pediatric PC, supported by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, and many others is an avenue to provide quality MH services for children.5,6,7 In a coordinated or colocated model, a behavioral health specialist works with a pediatric provider either in consultation with the practice (coordinated) or in the same practice site where patients are referred (colocated).7 The collaborative care model places pediatric medical providers with care managers or behavioral health specialists to deliver care in one practice setting.

Dr. Cathy Haut

The use of pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) with advanced training in MH care is described in the literature as a different type of collaborative care model.8,9,10 PNPs assess, diagnose, and treat using pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies. PNPs may offer evidence-based psychotherapy or refer for psychotherapy or parenting skills development. Those who have added knowledge and skills in MH care may seek validation of these competencies through completion of added certification as pediatric PC MH specialists (PMHS).11 Since 2011, there are more than 400 PMHSs certified in the United States. PNPs with expertise in MH are a solution to addressing the growing need for access to high quality care for children and adolescents in PC settings. We share examples of services provided by PNPs across the United States.
 

At a federally qualified health center

Dawn Garzon Maaks, PhD, CPNP-PC, the current president of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, is certified as a PMHS and works in a federally-qualified health center in southwest Washington State. This center provides lifespan services for patients, with separate office spaces for MH/psychiatric care and PC. Within this colocated environment, Dr. Garzon Maaks spends about 75% of her time caring for children with developmental, behavioral, and MH problems in the MH clinic and 25% in the PC office, providing health maintenance and acute episodic care. She collaborates with psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners by adding pediatric developmental and medical expertise and is welcomed by providers who have limited experience caring for children. While providing PC, she educates about issues such as resiliency, screening for substance abuse, and treatment of common pediatric mood disorders and ADHD. Her expertise also allows for MH care integration into PC visits, taking away the “stigma” which still is pervasive for patients referred to MH providers.

 

 

Dr. Dawn Garzon Maaks

“What my position has taught me is that when primary and mental health care providers work closely, it improves outcomes for all patients seen. Through frequent consultation, our primary care physicians have increasing skills in caring for children with mild mental health issues, thus freeing up the mental health people to deal with the more significant cases. On the other hand, our mental health providers benefit from having the primary care expertise in diagnosing and treating common conditions that mimic mental health issues. This integration also significantly reduces stigma because families see their mental health professional in the primary care setting,” Dr. Garzon Maaks said.
 

At an urban/suburban PC practice

alexsokolov/Thinkstock

Another PNP MH expert, Dr. Susan Van Cleve, is certified as a PMHS and works as a subspecialist within an urban/suburban pediatric PC practice. Her team is composed of two PNPs and one registered nurse who is designated as the full time MH coordinator. This team cares for children and teens with mild to moderate MH disorders from within the practice. The registered nurse performs intake interviews, schedules patients, and sends out screening tools before visits and is available to families and providers in the practice on a dedicated phone line. She refers complex patients to local providers for more comprehensive care and follows them to ensure that appointments and referrals are made. Scheduling with the PNPs allows for longer appointments, comprehensive treatment including medication management if warranted, and close follow-up care. Patient types seen include those with concerns about developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, disruptive behavior, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Children or teens with more severe disorders are referred to colleagues in psychiatry or counseling services, or to pediatric or adolescent subspecialists in the community.

Dr. Susan Van Cleve

“The children and families I see seem to feel comfortable because our behavioral team is embedded in the pediatric practice, and we use the same office space. Families have easy access to our full-time registered nurse who is available to answer questions, provide resources and advice, lend support, or assist navigating the health system. This type of system increases access, enables us to provide comprehensive family-centered care, and supports the child and family,” said Dr. Van Cleve, clinical professor and primary care pediatric nurse practitioner program director at the University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City.
 

As an educator

Naomi A. Schapiro, PhD, CPNP, is a professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, and a PNP at a school-based health center with an integrated behavioral health model, managed by a federally qualified health center in a medically underserved area. She is the principle investigator of an Advanced Nursing Education Health Resources Service Administration grant supporting interprofessional training and practice collaboration to improve care and reduce health inequities for disadvantaged children and adolescents coping with both behavioral health conditions and chronic physical conditions, including obesity.11

Dr. Schapiro collaborates with a multidisciplinary, multi-university team, a local children’s hospital, a social work training program, and the county health care services agency to develop and implement a training program for pediatric PC providers to increase skills and self-confidence implementing American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines assessing and treating depression, ADHD, anxiety and trauma-related symptoms; triaging patients with nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation; and recognizing and referring patients with bipolar disorder and psychosis. These training modules are currently being recorded for online posting. As part of this interprofessional collaboration, Dr. Schapiro and her colleagues developed a “warmline” for decision support, staffed by a psychiatrist and two nurse practitioners available to PC providers in a network of 29 school-based health centers and two pediatric practices for complex decision making about medications or diagnostic dilemmas. Efforts are underway to continue and expand this program.

 

 

Dr. Naomi A. Schapiro

“As a faculty teaching PNP students enhanced behavioral health assessment skills, I have been proudest when students have been able to apply and disseminate these skills,” Dr. Schapiro said. “One of our recent PNP graduates was in a community primary care practicum when an adolescent thinking about suicide walked into the clinic with her father. Her preceptor wasn’t sure how to proceed, when the student said, ‘Wait! We just practiced this in class.’ The student pulled up her course website, and she and her preceptor walked through the assessment together, developed a safety plan with the teen and her father, and connected the teen with a therapist, avoiding an unnecessary ER visit and potential fragmentation of care.”

The need and expectation that pediatric PC providers incorporate MH services is well documented.2,12,13 PNPs who have additional training and expertise in assessing, diagnosing, and managing MH care are an excellent solution for addressing this problem. The benefits of this team-based approach to the pediatric health care home include decreasing stigma, increasing access, and providing comprehensive MH care to children and their families.
 

Dr. Haut works at Beacon Pediatrics, a large primary care practice in Rehoboth Beach, Del. She works part-time for Pediatrix Medical Group, serving the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit medical team at the Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore, and she serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, also in Baltimore. Other contributors to this article were Dawn Garzon Maaks, PhD, CPNP, PMHS; Naomi Schapiro, PhD, CPNP; Susan Van Cleve, DNP, RN, CPNP-PC, PMHS; and Laura Searcy, MN, APRN, PPCNP-BC. Ms. Searcy is on the medical staff at WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta, Ga., delivering care to newborns. Dr. Haut and Ms. Searcy are members of the Pediatric News Consultant Advisory Board. Email them at [email protected].

References

1. “Best principles for integration of child psychiatry into the pediatric health home,” AACAP Executive Summary,2012, pages 1-13.

2. Pediatrics. 2009 Apr;123(4):1248-51.

3. Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Children’s Mental Health Data and Statistics.

4. MMWR Surveill Summ, 2016. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6506a1.

5. Pediatrics. 2015;135(5):909-17.

6. JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(10):929-37.

7. “Integrating child psychology services into primary care,” by Tynan D, Woods K, and Carpenter J. American Psychological Association, 2014.

8. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2005;11(5): 276-82.

9. J Nurse Pract. 2013;9(4):243-8.

10. J Pediatr Health Care. 2013; 27(3):162-3.

11. Advanced Nursing Education Health Resources Service Administration grant (#D09HP26958).

12. J Nurse Pract. 2013:9(3):142-8.

13. Pediatrics. 2018;141(3):e20174082

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