Daily Practice of a BHC

Healthcare Practitioners for CHC's: Urban versus rural/frontier in using PCBHI: A question was asked regarding what are the factors to consider when implementing a primary care and behavioral health integrated care progr...

I spend the day with checking my emails and phone messages prior to beginning the day. I typically see 10-12 patients per day. Utilizing an electronic health record enhances communication between the medical practitioner and the behavioral health consultant and the experience to have a major impact on patient's health issue is significantly rewarding to both the patient , PCP , and BHC. The patient's enjoy the " one stop shop" approach and lessening the stigma
of receiving brief behavioral health services within the clinic.
The PCP truly enjoys the support and benefits the BHC brings to patient care and improving the patient's health outcome.

Urban versus rural/frontier in using PCBHI

A question was asked regarding what are the factors to consider when implementing a primary care and behavioral health integrated care program in both a rural and urban area. My experience over the years has told me that placing a major focus on understanding your patient culture (with sensitivity and compassion)to the diverse and unique needs of patient that enters your clinic. The type of PCBHI program should reflect the needs of your patient that is culturally induced in your region. Good question.

Healthcare Practitioners for CHC's: VRHA Panel Discussion

Healthcare Practitioners for CHC's: VRHA Panel Discussion: I would like to share this video with you which truly reflects the experiences that are reported by those who work within primary care...

VRHA Panel Discussion

I would like to share this video with you which truly reflects the experiences that are reported by those who work within primary care and behavioral health settings. This is also what I have experienced in this journey to integrated care in treating the "whole person."

Join the Virginia Rural Health Discussion

Hello , this is Dr. McFeature. Please feel free to ask questions relevant to primary care and behavioral health integration. I will comment soon on the dialogue generated from the Virginia Rural Health Association integrated behavioral health panel discussion.

Integrated Behavioral Health from Coast to Coast

If you don’t know what INTEGRATED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH is, you have not met Dr. Bill McFeature.  Dr. Bill McFeature has  made promoting and educating about this emerging type of behavioral health his mission from coast to coast.  Born in Dublin, GA, Bill left the east coast initially to go to East Tennessee State University on a baseball scholarship. Baseball was fun but when it fizzled as a career, Bill needed to find a “real job.”  He began as a part-time alcohol counselor, completed his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master’s in Counseling from ETSU, moved to California, and ultimately completed a PhD in Clinical Psychology. 

Although Dr. McFeature began as a traditional mental health therapist, in 1997 he entered the emerging area of primary care integration with behavioral health.  After a recruiting phone call in 2004, Dr. McFeature was offered the opportunity to move to Virginia to further develop and implement this new concept.  This continental leap was made possible with a federal grant opportunity as a way to see a patient in a “one-stop shop” environment and simultaneously improve both the overall primary care and the access to behavioral health.

Today in the integrated behavioral health setting there is typically brief therapy and practical health consultations that follow best practice, research-based methodology. This is the vision, mission and daily work that Dr. McFeature advocates as the Director of Integrative Behavioral Health Care Services for Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, Inc.  He coordinates all aspects of behavioral health including program development and oversight, grant writing as well as direct patient care.

In coordination with a primary care provider, Dr. McFeature sees 12-14 patients per day.  In this context, his are not the traditional 50 minutes pre-scheduled appointments. For his integrated behavioral health sessions, Dr. McFeature sees 85% of patients for 30 minutes in his office and 15% of patients are seen for 15 minutes in the exam room. His patients from Bristol, a border city between southwestern Virginia and Tennessee, are predominately older.

Personally, Dr. McFeature loves the rural areas and feels he has a satisfying work/life balance. Family is very important to Dr. McFeature and his wife.  Together in 2009 they wrote and published the book Heart Path Practitioner (http://heartpathpractitioner.com/).  In addition, Dr. McFeature appreciates the NHSC (http://nhsc.hrsa.gov/ ) loan repayment opportunityand is now in his third year of what he calls “a wonderful program.”  But the greatest part about living in a rural area is the close knit community that has expansive views.

Dr. McFeature sums up his journey to spread Integrative Behavioral Health from coast to coast simply saying he appreciates the opportunity to positively “touch lives”. That seems to say it all.