Leading Through Collaboration: Advancing Behavioral Medicine on Interdisciplinary Teams

Katherine L. Applegate, PhD; Dolapo Anyanwu, PhD, MS - The Professional Advancement Council

Behavioral medicine specialists are well positioned to provide leadership and serve as connectors within interdisciplinary teams, fostering meaningful partnerships across medical, surgical, health psychology, nursing, rehabilitation, and other allied health disciplines. Success in these settings requires not only clinical and scientific expertise, but also the ability to communicate the value of behavioral medicine, advocate for a biopsychosocial approach, influence clinical pathway design, and foster collaboration. These specialists bring skills that can help teams navigate organizational barriers, communicate across disciplines, and advance integrated, patient-centered care. This Outlook article highlights two important leadership opportunities: (1) communicating the value of the biopsychosocial approach and (2) fostering innovative partnerships across health systems. By leveraging these strengths, they can help advance strategic priorities, expand interdisciplinary care, and improve the delivery of patient-centered services.

Communicating the relevance and value of the biopsychosocial approach for improving patient outcomes is a central contribution of behavioral medicine. Behavioral medicine specialists can help health care leaders operationalize this approach by bridging disciplines, connecting evidence with clinical practice, and communicating its value to clinical teams and organizational leadership. For example, although nutrition during pregnancy has important implications for maternal and birth outcomes, significant gaps remain in access to and consumption of healthy foods.^1,2 Specialists can help translate this evidence into interventions at multiple levels—from health system and clinic initiatives to individualized patient support—to improve access to healthy nutrition during pregnancy.^3,4 Healthcare providers and administrators may not always recognize these connections or have the expertise and resources needed to incorporate evidence-based interventions into existing care pathways. This creates an opportunity to align interventions with organizational priorities, facilitate implementation across levels of care, and advance more comprehensive approaches to health. 

Behavioral medicine specialists also bring a valuable perspective to building innovative partnerships across healthcare systems. Their interdisciplinary training supports an understanding of the complex relationships among health, behavior, social context, and environmental factors. This broad perspective can help strengthen connections among healthcare systems, patients, families, caregivers, and community partners, identifying opportunities for collaboration that might otherwise be overlooked. By integrating diverse perspectives and fostering communication across disciplines, they can help develop patient-centered partnerships that strengthen care, improve health outcomes, and extend the reach of healthcare beyond traditional clinical settings. Ultimately, they serve as strategic connectors within healthcare systems—bridging disciplines, building partnerships, and helping create the collaborative infrastructure needed to advance integrated, patient-centered care. 

References:

1. Mate A, Reyes-Goya C, Santana-Garrido Á, et al: Lifestyle, maternal nutrition and healthy pregnancy. Current vascular pharmacology 19:132–140, 2021 
2. Zinga J, McKay FH, Lindberg R, et al: Experiences of food-insecure pregnant women and factors influencing their food choices. Maternal and Child Health Journal 26:1434–1441, 2022 
3. Berkowitz SA, Delahanty LM, Terranova J, et al: Medically tailored meal delivery for diabetes patients with food insecurity: a randomized cross-over trial. Journal of general internal medicine 34:396–404, 2019 
4. Hager K, Du M, Li Z, et al: Impact of produce prescriptions on diet, food security, and cardiometabolic health outcomes: a multisite evaluation of 9 produce prescription programs in the United States. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes 16:e009520, 2023