A recent study has stressed the importance of providing mental health care facilities, at a time when anxiety and depression rise among people amid the pandemic, at a time when primary care clinics, especially in rural areas, are facing increased patient needs.
Researchers at UW Medicine found that primary-care physicians and rural clinic staff felt more skilled in delivering mental health care if they used a model known as collaborative care.
The results were published in the Annals of Family Medicine and added to the evidence supporting collaborative care’s effectiveness.
In the model, primary-care physicians retain primary responsibility to treat behavioral health disorders with the support of two team members: a care manager and a consulting psychiatrist. Consulting psychiatrists provide recommendations on patient care through weekly caseload reviews conducted…