70% of Americans want primary care providers to address mental health

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More than one in five U.S. adults, which equates to 59.3 million people, were living with mental illnesses in 2022, yet just more than half of them (50.6%) had received treatment in the previous year. A new study, from West Health and Gallup, uncovered that 70% of Americans would prefer to be asked about both their physical health and their mental health during appointments with their primary care providers (PCPs).

The West Health-Gallup Survey on Mental Health in America reported that 65% of men and 76% of women hoped to discuss both physical and mental health with their PCPs. The survey also found that 66% of U.S. adults have been asked about their mental health by their PCPs or family practitioners, whereas 32% of adults said that had never happened. Women were more likely than men (71% compared to 60%) to be asked about mental health.

Most patients would like physicians to go further than just asking questions, with 89% of U.S. adults finding it very important or somewhat important that PCPs treat patients directly, and 90% find it very important or somewhat important that they refer patients to appropriate mental health specialists. Additionally, 87% of patients find it very important or somewhat important that PCPs screen patients for symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.

“We can do a better job making the diagnosis and treatment of a mental health condition more accessible, affordable and integrated, and the solution may lie in primary care settings, where patients are most likely to interact with a health professional and less likely to feel stigmatized,” Tim Lash, president of West Health Policy Center, said in an organizational release. “Patients would benefit from earlier and more proactive management of conditions, and the system would benefit from a more efficient, effective and interconnected approach to care.”

The majority of U.S. adults (74%) shared they are/would be generally comfortable bringing up mental health concerns—including loneliness, depression, anxiety, anger and social isolation—with a PCP. Women and men share similar levels of comfort in discussing these topics with PCPs, despite men being overall less likely to prefer being asked about mental health.

“While it is positive to see the stigma around talking about mental health eroding, America continues to struggle with having enough available primary care providers to have these critical conversations,” said Dan Witters, director of well-being research at Gallup. “Many physicians say they are experiencing burnout and are frustrated that they can’t provide the quality of care they want to due to high caseloads.”

Another West Health-Gallup survey of U.S. adults, from May 2024, found that 75% of patients thought that mental health issues are generally handled worse than physical health issues. The perception was even worse among older adults, with 82% of U.S. adults aged 65 or older expressing that treatment for mental health conditions are generally worse than for physical health. When the same population of adults were asked to grade the current state of U.S. health care, 27% gave it a “C,” 32% a “D” and 25% of adults graded the U.S. health care system as an “F” for its ability to address mental health conditions.

“The demand for high-quality care for some of the most common mental health conditions continues to grow,” Lash explained. “West Health and collaborators are working on new integrated models now that could be adopted by health systems across the country, which would both increase access and stem the mental health crisis in America. Data show that primary care physicians working in tandem with mental health professionals leads to earlier intervention and better outcomes for patients.”