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Behavioral Health Hub & Spoke Model

Expand Access. Strengthen Care. Keep Patients Local.

Bring psychiatric expertise directly into your practice.
UPHCS Hub & Spoke model is designed to help primary care providers expand access to mild-to-moderate behavioral health care while keeping patients in the communities they trust. By connecting primary care practices and emergency departments to a centralized psychiatric “Hub,” providers gain real-time access to specialty support, implementation guidance, and population-level tools – to confidently deliver integrated behavioral health care.

Provider-to-Provider Psychiatric Consultation Support

from a licensed Psychiatrist based in the UP who will review patient clinical history to suggest a treatment plan that includes recommendations regarding:

  • Medication changes
  • Psychosocial or behavioral interventions
  • Safety/risk assessments
  • Treatment referrals

*All treatment decisions remain at the discretion of the treating physicians and the patient.

Who This Is For?
  • Primary Care Providers
  • Behavioral Health & Chronic Care Teams
  • Pediatric Providers
  • Emergency Departments
  • Hospital-based teams
  • Rural and community clinics

Designed by local providers and psychiatrists, this model was created for providers to strengthen behavioral health care across the Upper Peninsula.

Why This Matters for Your Practice

By partnering with the UPHCS Behavioral Health Hub, practices can:

  • Intervene earlier
  • Reduce stigma
  • Improve patient outcomes
  • Retain patients locally
  • Strengthen financial sustainability
  • Reinforce their role as comprehensive care providers

This model allows you to expand services without expanding overhead.

How the Hub & Spoke Model Works

The UPHCS Behavioral Health Hub is a centralized psychiatric team supporting community-based Spoke sites, including primary care, pediatrics, emergency departments, and hospitals.

The Hub provides consultation, care coordination, and treatment support to patients across the lifespan — including children, adults, and Veterans — and serves individuals of all payor types.

Spoke sites remain the patient’s medical home while expanding access to integrated behavioral health expertise

To Your Practice Clinical Confidence
  • Real-time psychiatric expertise
  • Shared care model
  • Support for complex cases
Operational Support
  • Workflow implementation assistance
  • Navigation and care coordination guidance
  • Program development support
Financial & System Value
  • Strengthens value-based care performance
  • Reduces unnecessary specialty referrals
  • Decreases avoidable ED visits and hospitalizations
To Your Patients

Expanded regional capacity without duplicating services

  • Access to care close to home
  • Reduced stigma
  • Faster treatment initiation
  • Better coordination between medical and behavioral health care
  • Improved outcomes for mild-to-moderate conditions
To Your Health System
  • Expanded regional capacity without duplicating services
  • Better use of psychiatric specialty resources
  • Reduced inpatient and ED strain
  • Standardized, scalable integration model
  • Improved population health metrics
  • Supports billing opportunities under CoCM

How a Provider Uses the Service: Step-by-Step

  • 1. Identify Behavioral Health Needs

    Use universal screening tools during routine visits (PHQ-9, GAD-7, etc.). 

    You continue leading care. The Hub strengthens your decision-making.  

  • 2. Access Psychiatric Consultation

    Need input on diagnosis, medication adjustments, or treatment planning?  

    • Submit a consultation request 
    • The Hub schedules a provider consultation phone call or via TigerConnect
    • Consulting psychiatrist provides verbal and written recommendations to provider  

  • 3. Psychiatric Consultation for Collaborative Care (CoCM)

    The UPHCS Behavioral Health Hub provides dedicated psychiatric consultation for practices implementing the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM).   

    Practices receive:  

    • A consistent psychiatric consultant 
    • Clinical guidance that supports compliant CoCM billing 
    • An affordable, CMS-aligned patient registry built for rural practices 
    • A CMS-aligned patient registry required for CoCM 

    The UPHCS registry was developed specifically to meet the operational needs and budgets of rural practices. 

    For practices beginning CoCM, the Hub can connect practices to implementation resources. Participation in Provider Organizations is not required to partner with the Hub. Through this shared model, practices gain required psychiatric infrastructure at significantly lower cost than hiring or contracting independently.   

    We help you build and sustain integrated care – not just start it.  

  • 4. Coordinate Direct Services When Needed

    If a patient requires higher-level care:

    • The Hub assists with specialty referral coordination  
    • Qualifying pediatric patients referred to Michigan Consultation & Care (MC3)
    • Qualifying patients with OUD/SUD referred to Great Lakes Recovery Center (GLRC)
    • You receive guidance on appropriate referral pathways
    • Transitions are streamlined

    Your patient stays connected to you throughout the process.

Explore Partnership

Health Systems across the Upper Peninsula are expanding behavioral health capacity through the Hub & Spoke model.

If your organization is evaluating psychiatric consultation, integrated care strategies, or CoCM participation, the UPHCS team is available to discuss fit, structure, and next steps.

Complete the contact form to begin the conversation.