Embracing measurement-based care within integrated primary care settings

Abstract

"Why should I care about doing Measurement-Based Care (MBC)?" This is a phrase that the editor often hears, either explicitly or implied, when working to champion and implement MBC within integrated primary care (IPC) settings. As an implementation and education specialist within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare system, the editor has attended many MBC presentations and meetings where this question is uttered by frontline IPC clinicians, often frustrated with the growing demands on their practice. Many of these sentiments are usually framed around the assumption that MBC is not very important or useful, clinically speaking. This sets up a familiar debate of research versus practice: While many clinicians have heard MBC is "good for us," what accounts for the failure to implement MBC clinically? One of the major aims of this guest editorial is to invite the reader to consider the evidence base we have so far, rethink perceived barriers to MBC, and to ultimately decide for oneself that "the juice is worth the squeeze" for routine clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).