• Center on Health Equity & Access
  • Clinical
  • Health Care Cost
  • Health Care Delivery
  • Insurance
  • Policy
  • Technology
  • Value-Based Care

Dr John Santopietro Says People Now See the Connection Between Behavioral, Physical Health

Video

About 70% of primary care visits actually have a behavioral health component, which has been well known for some time, although people are only now getting serious about investing in mental healthcare, according to John Santopietro, MD, chief clinical officer of behavioral health at Carolinas HealthCare System.

About 70% of primary care visits actually have a behavioral health component, which has been well known for some time, even if people are just now realizing how connected mental and physical health are, according to John Santopietro, MD, chief clinical officer of behavioral health at Carolinas HealthCare System.

He added that the cost of care for a patient increases 2 to 3 times when just one mental health diagnosis is added.

“It’s one of those things that has been there, we’ve known about it, but only now is the system waking up to get serious about investing in it,” Dr Santopietro said. “I think people are finally getting it.”

Related Videos
Michael David Chuong, MD, radiation oncologist, Miami Cancer Institute, Baptist Health South Florida
Yuman Fong, MD, cancer surgeon, City of Hope
Dr Marco del Riccio
Elena Elimova, MD, associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto and staff medical oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital
Dr Eric Yang
Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
Enrique Velazquez Villarreal, MD, PhD, MPH, MS, assistant professor in the department of integrative translational sciences at City of Hope
Dr Marco Del Riccio
Dr Steven Manobianco
Related Content
© 2026 MJH Life Sciences
AJMC®
All rights reserved.