About 40 percent of youth in the U.S. suffer from mental health or substance abuse disorders. Traditionally, these youngsters would have to see separate specialists for their disorders, one who may not have any contact with their primary care doctors. But researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles have found that when it comes to treating mental disorders, collaboration between doctors is key.

The researchers analyzed a wide range of studies related to using a more integrated approach to health care — one where the primary care doctor plays an active role in connecting a child to a mental health specialist. In all, the authors looked at 31 studies that followed the outcomes of more than thirteen-thousand children. Results showed children who received integrated care were 66 percent more likely to fare positively than those who didn’t. If the psychologist was actually in the same office as the primary care physician, the child was 73 percent more likely to have positive outcomes from treatment.

Health insurance is one reason why the integrated approach works. In the traditional model, a child had to get referred to a mental health specialist by their primary physician and health insurance would determine whether they were covered. This meant that some children often missed out on crucial mental health services if their insurance did not cover it or if they did not have insurance. But with the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, behavioral health treatment is considered an essential health benefit, making mental health care more affordable.

The integrated approach also removes unnecessary barriers to seeing a mental health provider by placing those specialists within primary care offices, where the children have to go for yearly check ups. This eliminates the challenge of switching health care settings, which can be intimidating to patients.

The authors hope their study will shed light on the benefits of integrated care and lead to improvements in health care system.