Comments on 'A note on the partnership between psychiatry and primary care'.

摘要

The editorial by Frank V deGruy III, M.D., M.S.F.M., on treatment of depression by primary care physicians was eloquent and to the point (1). Most health plans are realizing that the current reimbursement system does not adequately address the most disabling and costly illnesses and that health-plan-level disease management programs that only peripherally involve the practitioner have limited value. They/we haven't figured out how to make the switch, but thanks to voices such as Dr. de Gruy's, I feel that it is heading that way. As we move to a broader acceptance of collaborative care, I feel that we need to raise the level of psychiatrist involvement in managing/monitoring chronic medical illnesses in primary care providers' patient populations.