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Original Research: Paul A. Nutting, Kaia Gallagher, Kim Riley, Suzanne White, W. Perry Dickinson, Neil Korsen, and Allen Dietrich Care Management for Depression in Primary Care Practice: Findings From the RESPECT-Depression Trial Ann Fam Med 2008; 6: 30-37 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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Electronic letters published:

Money Matters

Thomas L. Schwenk   (15 January 2008)

Money Matters 15 January 2008
Thomas L. Schwenk, Ann Arbor, MI USA George A. Dean, M.D., Chair and Professor of Family Medicine, University of Michigan Send response to journal: Re: Money Matters	The findings of Nutting et al. prove yet again that if the health system truly values enhanced and more effective approaches to mental health care, then such care deserves enhanced and more effective approaches to reimbursement. As the educational aphorism notes, "the curriculum tells the teacher what to teach; the exam tells the learner what to learn." We do not need more demonstrations, pilot studies or trials of case management and enhanced collaborative approaches to depression care. We know it works, we know what it costs, and we know what the payoff is. What we need is the political and social will to value this care in a concrete way. The physicians surveyed in this study are to be commended for not ridiculing the investigators for studying what the respondents consider to be obvious--rewards work, financial and otherwise. Doing what we know to be right can carry us a long way but its influence fades over time, even for those among us who are most altruistic. We should accept this fact, embelished by the findings of this study, and begin to develop business and financial solutions. Competing interests:   None declared