According to a 2019 article in the Harvard Business Review, every year in the U.S., employees with mental health conditions struggle, leading to the loss of more than 200 million work days and costing nearly $17 billion dollars in employee productivity. More holistic, coordinated healthcare is more critical than ever to keeping employees healthy and in turn lowering employer healthcare costs.

In this episode, learn how teams of healthcare providers in Michigan are working together to treat the whole person, including physical, mental or social needs, and the impact this approach has on health and healthcare costs.

Under Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Collaborative Care Model, primary care physicians work with a team of medical and behavioral healthcare case managers, nurses, and a consulting psychiatrist to care for the whole patient. Why? Studies show that when behavioral health problems are addressed, chronic conditions can be better managed. Patients get better faster. And care costs less. A growing number of practices in Michigan have adopted this model, and they’re more efficient, effective and increasingly accessible to your workforce.

Listen to our conversation with Dr. William Beecroft, Medical Director for Behavioral Health for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Dr. Jonathan Henry, an East Lansing-based psychiatrist and Dr. David Winston, a participating primary care provider in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They describe a patient’s journey through their model, share success stories and spell out what happens in the workplace when employees are healthier in mind and body.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Michigan is a licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independently owned and operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. The programs mentioned in this podcast are in no way associated or affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Music: “Where it goes,” by Jahzzar, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.