Ohio’s hospitals and health systems play a vital role in the state’s behavioral health system. Providing physical and mental health treatment, crisis services, and advanced treatment across multiple care settings, hospitals and health systems provide a patient-centered approach at all stages of life.

Policy Priorities

OHA’s Behavioral Health Committee, composed of member CEOs and behavioral health leadership, has developed a set of priorities for Ohio’s hospitals and health systems to help improve the behavioral health system for all patients. These priorities include:

• Building closer connections with local behavioral health partners
• Advancing the integration of physical and behavioral health at Ohio’s hospitals and health systems
• Promoting increased access to appropriate levels of treatment
• Educating members on behavioral health policies and opportunities

Behavioral Health Services in Ohio’s Hospitals 

• In 2023, 1.5 million patients with a primary or secondary behavioral health diagnosis had 3.4 million encounters at Ohio’s hospitals. This represents 9% of total hospital encounters and does not include all encounters outside of the hospital, such as in a primary care setting.
• Over 68% of these encounters were on an outpatient basis, 17% in an emergency room, and 15% in an inpatient bed.
• Medicaid makes up the largest percentage of these encounters (35%) followed by commercial-insured patients (32%).
• Anxiety and depression make up 52% of patient primary or secondary behavioral health diagnoses.

Behavioral Health Outreach Toolkit

The toolkit was created for OHA members to help advance these priorities. This member-only content can be accessed by logging in above with your OHA credentials.