HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Coleman, J V Articles by Patrick, D L Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Coleman, J V Articles by Patrick, D L

Psychiatry and general health care.

J V Coleman and D L Patrick

The paper presents a study of psychiatric morbidity in the general health care program of a Health Maintenance Organization. Mental health services are built into the program as an integral component of primary care teams in internal medicine and pediatrics. The following were some of the findings: 15.7% of patients visiting the Health Center over a two-year period presented emotional problems; 72% were treated by primary care clinicians alone and 28% by mental health clinicians. Treatment by primary and mental health clinicians is broken down by diagnostic categories. A study of patients with chronic emotional problems revealed that they tended to be high utilizers of all Health Center services for both physical and emotional difficulties. Chronic patients represented 2% of all patients who visited in 1974; of these, 54% were seen by mental health clinicians and 46% by primary care clinicians. In the case of patients with non-chronic emotional problems, over a two-year period, there was an increase in the per cent seen by primary clinicians. The use of psychoactive drugs by primary physicians and the advantages and difficulties of developing a program of integrated health-mental services are described.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. E. Roberts and C. R. Roberts Marriage, Work, and Depressive Symptoms among Mexican Americans Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, June 1, 1982; 4(2): 199 - 221. [Abstract]