Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program (EB-TNP)

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program (EB-TNP). The purpose of this program is to integrate behavioral health services into primary care settings using telehealth technology through telehealth networks and evaluate the effectiveness of such integration. The goal for the BHI/EB-TNP Program is to support evidence-based projects that utilize telehealth technologies through telehealth networks in rural and underserved areas1 (i.e., rural areas that are also frontier communities, medically underserved areas, or have medically underserved populations), to: (1) improve access to integrated behavioral health services in primary care settings; and (2) expand and improve the quality of health information available to health care providers by evaluating the effectiveness of integrating telebehavioral health services into primary care settings and establishing an evidence-based model that can assist health care providers. Applicants are encouraged to propose novel ways to achieve equity in access to affordable, high-quality, culturally and linguistically appropriate telebehavioral care for rural and underserved patients across the U.S. Through this opportunity, HRSA aims to support innovative integration strategies of telebehavioral health into primary care settings that serve rural and underserved communities with high needs for such services. As a result, applicants must propose to provide telebehavioral health services to patients in rural and underserved areas. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose established telehealth networks to provide telebehavioral health services which are integrated into the primary care for populations with disparate challenges to quickly and efficiently provide telebehavioral health services to them. Program results will include generating data to inform research activities; expanding telebehavioral health services to rural and underserved communities and primary care settings; increasing the capacity of existing telehealth networks, and developing innovative strategies, methods, or tools, to integrate telebehavioral health services into primary care settings. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations.