In a groundbreaking advancement poised to reshape healthcare delivery for adults with developmental disabilities, researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University have unveiled compelling evidence supporting integrated care models. Their research conclusively demonstrates that adults receiving coordinated psychiatric and primary care services are significantly less likely to require emergency room visits or hospitalization compared to those treated within conventional care frameworks. This revelation underscores the transformative potential of co-locating physical and mental health services within a single clinical environment to enhance patient outcomes while alleviating systemic healthcare burdens.
Published in the prestigious Disability and Health Journal, the observational study meticulously analyzed healthcare utilization patterns of 6,706 adults with developmental disabilities over 2022-2023. This cohort was drawn from patients engaged in two divergent healthcare delivery models affiliated with the University of Cincinnati and UC Health. The first is the Timothy Freeman, MD, Center for Developmental Disabilities, a pioneering institution that embodies an integrated care approach by amalgamating primary healthcare and behavioral health services. The second is the University of Cincinnati/UC Health Mood Disorders Center, which delivers services under a traditional, non-integrated care schema focusing primarily on psychiatric treatment.
Quantitative findings from the study elucidate the profound impact of integrated care. Patients managed in the integrated model exhibited a 50% reduction in odds of emergency department utilization and a 38% decline in hospitalization rates for all causes. Most notably, the likelihood of psychiatric emergency visits was diminished by an extraordinary 72% among integrated care recipients. Such statistical outcomes illuminate a clinically meaningful shift in healthcare engagement, reflecting improved management of both physical and mental health needs within a unified treatment paradigm.
The study’s design was retrospective and cross-sectional, enabling a robust assessment of inpatient and outpatient healthcare encounters. The researchers, including prominent co-author Corey Keeton—an associate professor bridging family medicine and psychiatry—highlight the intricate challenges adults with developmental disabilities confront as they transition from pediatric to adult healthcare systems. Unlike pediatric care settings that are often multidisciplinary and well-resourced, adult healthcare infrastructures traditionally offer fragmented services, posing significant obstacles to holistic care integration and continuity.
Keeton elaborates on the vision fueling the Freeman Center’s recent expansion and grand reopening in September 2025. This new 15,000-square-foot facility epitomizes an ambitious effort to craft an environment uniquely attuned to the intricate needs of adults with developmental disabilities. By fostering seamless collaboration among primary care physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, behavioral health specialists, and community resource navigators within a singular clinical ecosystem, the Freeman Center is pioneering a model of care delivery that minimizes barriers and optimizes therapeutic synergy.
The integration of diverse services within one clinical setting endows patients with previously unattainable convenience and continuity of care. Patients can receive a comprehensive annual physical, psychiatric evaluations, therapy sessions, and medication management—all during a single visit. This approach not only streamlines healthcare consumption but also fosters dynamic, multidisciplinary communication among providers. Such collaboration ensures that treatment plans are holistically aligned, timely adjusted, and patient-centered.
Gilmore, the study’s lead author and an Ohio State University postdoctoral scholar, emphasizes the promising implications of the findings while acknowledging the inherent limitations of cross-sectional methodologies. He underscores the necessity for longitudinal studies to further unravel causal linkages between integrated care and reduced healthcare utilization. Nonetheless, these initial results underscore integrated care’s transformative potential in closing access gaps for adults with developmental disabilities, a historically underserved and medically complex population.
Additional co-authors contributing to this comprehensive analysis include Emily Johnson, MD; Aurora Rivendale, MD; Lauren Wing, MD; as well as experts spanning psychiatry, occupational therapy, medical dietetics, and internal medicine from Ohio State University. Their multidisciplinary expertise enriches the study’s rigor and contextualizes its findings within a broader healthcare framework.
The research was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, affirming the study’s relevance to advancing evidence-based health service models. Notably, some authors have professional affiliations with the Freeman Center and the Mood Disorders Clinic, disclosed transparently to address potential conflicts of interest.
In summary, this study furnishes compelling evidence advocating for integrated, multidisciplinary care models tailored to adults with developmental disabilities. By coalescing physical and mental healthcare services within a single infrastructure, healthcare systems can markedly reduce emergency medical interventions and hospital admissions. This paradigm shift heralds a new era where patient-centered, continuous, and collaborative care models become the cornerstone of effective management for vulnerable adult populations.
As healthcare systems worldwide grapple with increasing demand and resource constraints, the Freeman Center exemplifies a scalable and replicable model demonstrating that integrated care is not only feasible but imperative. The hope is that other institutions will emulate and adapt such models, transforming adult disability care and ultimately improving quality of life for millions of individuals.
Subject of Research: People
Article Title: Use of emergency medical services by adults with developmental disabilities receiving integrated or usual care
News Publication Date: 6-May-2026
Web References: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1936657426000567
References: Disability and Health Journal, DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2026.102079
Image Credits: Photo courtesy of UC Health/University of Cincinnati
Keywords: integrated care, developmental disabilities, emergency medical services, psychiatric care, primary care, healthcare utilization, adults with disabilities, interdisciplinary collaboration, health services research, mental health integration, healthcare access, medical outcomes
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