May is Mental Health Month: Check out resources available to you

May is Mental Health Month, a good time to remind your patients of the important role that good mental health plays in overall wellness. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has developed a wide range of materials and resources focused on mental and behavioral health — many of them suitable for sharing with patients.

“We know it’s important to address mental and behavioral health issues as part of a patient’s overall well‑being — and to address them early before they escalate,” said Dr. Amy McKenzie, associate chief medical officer. “That’s why we’ve created an array of materials for members and health care providers to help connect patients to treatment and provide educational materials to help patients better manage their conditions.”

We encourage you to check out the following:

• Our new Behavioral and Mental Health website — part of our Behavioral Health Campaign — at bcbsm.com/mentalhealth. For more details about the site and related member communications, check out Dr. McKenzie’s column, which ran in the March — April issue of Hospital and Physician Update.
• Mental Health Awareness Employer Toolkit for flyers, posters, articles and more.
• Primary Care Provider Toolkit, designed to help primary care providers address the needs of patients with mental health issues.
• Our corporate blogs, mibluesperspectives.com and ahealthiermichigan.org. The Mind section of ahealthiermichigan.org includes blogs and videos about depression, anxiety, emotional eating, substance use disorder and other mental and behavioral health issues.

In addition, members can follow Blue Cross on Facebook and Twitter for regularly updated mental health information.

We’re also launching the second phase of our Behavioral Health Campaign this month. It will include a refreshed Behavioral and Mental Health site and an array of communications targeted to our members. The focus will be on removing mental health stigmas and other barriers to care.