Name
Help Me Help You: Strategies for Increasing and Normalizing Warm Handoffs in Primary Care Using Top Down and Bottom-Up Approaches
Description
This interactive session explores strategies to improve the implementation of warm handoffs (WHOs) in the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model. Using implementation science frameworks—PRISM and Normalization Process Theory—attendees will analyze barriers and facilitators to integrating WHOs as a routine practice. Through case-based problem-solving exercises and group discussions participants will develop practical strategies to enhance workflow efficiency, provider engagement, and leadership support. This session is designed for providers, clinic managers, and organizational leaders looking to strengthen behavioral health integration and improve patient access to care.
Speakers
Kane Carlock BH Consultant Trainee, BH Consultant Trainee, HealthSource of Ohio, Loveland, OH
Stephanie Burkhard BH Consultant, Behavioral Health Consultant, HealthSource of Ohio, Loveland, Ohio
Stephanie Burkhard
Content Level
Advanced
Tags
Population and public health, Primary Care Behavioral Health Model, Team-based care
Session Type
Concurrent
SIG or Committee
Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH)
Objective 1
Identify key barriers and facilitators to implementing warm handoffs (WHOs) in primary care using the PRISM and Normalization Process Theory (NPT) frameworks.
Objective 2
Apply implementation strategies in a case-based exercise to address common challenges in sustaining warm handoffs (WHOs) within primary care settings.
Objective 3
Understand how top-down (leadership, policy) and bottom-up (workflow, provider engagement) approaches interact to influence the successful implementation of warm handoffs (WHOs) in primary care.
Content Reference 1
Beehler, G. P. (2021). Researching warm hand-offs: Should we give a WHOot? Families, Systems, & Health, 39(2), 173–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/fsh0000626
Content Reference 2
Beehler, G. P., Funderburk, J. S., Possemato, K., & Vair, C. L. (2013). Developing a measure of provider adherence to improve the implementation of behavioral health services in primary care: A Delphi study. Implementation Science, 8(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-8-19
Content Reference 3
Feldstein, A. C., & Glasgow, R. E. (2008). A Practical, Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model (PRISM) for Integrating Research Findings into Practice. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 34(4), 228–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1553-7250(08)34030-6
Content Reference 4
May, C., & Finch, T. (2009). Implementing, Embedding, and Integrating Practices: An Outline of Normalization Process Theory. Sociology, 43(3), 535–554. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038509103208\
Content Reference 5
Tierney, E., Hannigan, A., Kinneen, L., May, C., O’Sullivan, M., King, R., Kennedy, N., & MacFarlane, A. (2019). Interdisciplinary team working in the Irish primary healthcare system: Analysis of ‘invisible’ bottom up innovations using Normalisation Process Theory. Health Policy, 123(11), 1083–1092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.09.002