Achieving Better, Faster Clinical Outcomes with Collaborative Care

Updated: April 24, 2025.

In this blog you will learn:

• How collaborative care marries physical and mental health to treat patients
• Why collaborative care results in improved clinical outcomes for patients

Now more than ever people demand affordable, accessible, and high-quality mental health care. But stigma, provider shortages, and unaffordable treatment discourage many people from seeking care.

It’s part of the reason why 55% of American adults with a mental illness receive no treatment at all. Even when individuals decide to seek treatment, the process can be daunting. Finding an available therapist, scheduling an appointment, and navigating the needlessly complex healthcare system can take a toll. Not to mention, community mental health in its present state simply can’t deliver efficient and effective care. Why? The current fee-for-service system incentivizes volume over value. This results in patients staying in services longer, caseloads remain full and unmanageable, and new patients can’t get an appointment.

In other words: when care suffers, so do clinical outcomes.

Patients Deserve Better. That’s Where Collaborative Care Comes In

Patients deserve comprehensive services that addresses their whole health. To improve clinical outcomes, primary care practices must integrate behavioral health services. At evolvedMD, our unique model places behavioral health managers onsite and in-person allowing for faster and more efficient care.

The results: up to 22% better clinical outcomes than industry average.

Here’s How evolvedMD’s Collaborative Care Model Works 

1. Scheduling: For patients, the process begins with scheduling an appointment with their primary care provider.
2. Screening: During their visit, the patient’s primary care provider will screen them for anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. This screening is a vital part of the process, as it helps to proactively identify any mental health issues early on.
3. Referring: The primary care provider can then refer their patient to evolvedMD’s on-site Behavioral Health Manager, a licensed social worker, counselor, or therapist trained to treat mental health conditions. This professional works in the same primary care practice, eliminating the need to refer any patients outside of the clinic.
4. First Appointment: Within days—sometimes on the same day—patients will have their first 45-minute appointment with the Behavioral Health Manager. This quick turnaround ensures we can treat mental health issues promptly and effectively.
5. Ongoing Treatment: The patient will visit our Behavioral Health Manager each month, with 45-minute appointments and 15-minute checkups. The Behavioral Health Manager collaborates with the patient’s primary care provider to treat the whole person — both physical and mental health.

How Collaborative Care Improves Clinical Outcomes

Amongst other benefits for patients, patients enjoy:

Increased Access

Waiting weeks or months for an available therapy appointment is not an option. evolvedMD’s approach ensures patients quickly start treatment within hours or days from the moment they speak with their primary care provider.

More Effective Care

Not addressing symptoms early, no matter how mild, may lead to increasingly severe symptoms down the road. evolvedMD’s approach treats these symptoms before they’re too severe to treat without help from external community resources. According to our research, evolvedMD’s collaborative care model achieves remission of depression over 10x faster than traditional care. More specifically, the median time to remission using our model is 53 days vs. 614 days in traditional care.

More Affordable Care

In most of the U.S. patients can expect to pay $100-$200 per session. With evolvedMD’s approach, patients only pay what they would pay to see their primary care provider. For example, if the copay to see your primary provider is $35, you’d pay the same amount to see evolvedMD’s onsite Behavioral Health Manager.

Increased Satisfaction

Our approach improves overall safety and quality of care, meaning fewer return visits and happier, healthier patients.

By integrating behavioral health in the primary care setting, patients enjoy comprehensive, efficient, and effective care, ensuring improved clinical outcomes. That means living a happier, healthier life in record time. Our approach not only addresses immediate mental health needs but also sets the foundation for long-term health and well-being.

Want to feel healthier, happier—faster? 
Share this article with your primary care provider.