The Anatomy of Primary Care and Mental Health Clinician Communication: A Quality Improvement Case Study

Background The high prevalence of comorbid physical and mental illnesses among veterans is well known. Therefore, ensuring effective communication between primary care (PC) and mental health (MH) clinicians in the Veterans Affairs(VA) health care system is essential. The VA’s Patient Aligned Care Teams ( PACT) initiative has further raised awareness of the need for communication between PC and MH. Improving such communication, however, has proven challenging.