Care Management for Depression in Primary Care Practice: Findings From the RESPECT-Depression Trial

Paul A. Nutting; Kaia Gallagher; Kim Riley; Suzanne White; W. Perry Dickinson; Neil Korsen; Allen Dietrich

doi:10.1370/afm.742

Published eLetters

If you would like to comment on this article, click on Submit a Response to This article, below. We welcome your input.

Submit a Response to This Article

Compose eLetter

Title *

Author Information

Contributors
First Name and Middle Initial * First or given name, e.g. 'Peter'. Last Name * Your last, or family, name, e.g. 'MacMoody'. Email Address * Your email address, e.g. higgs-boson@gmail.com Occupation * Your role and/or occupation, e.g. 'Orthopedic Surgeon'. Affiliation * Your organization or institution (if applicable), e.g. 'Royal Free Hospital'.

Statement of Competing Interests

Competing interests? *

Yes

Please describe the competing interests

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

What code is in the image? *

Enter the characters shown in the image.

Vertical Tabs

Jump to comment:

Money Matters
Thomas L. Schwenk

Published on: 15 January 2008

Published on: (15 January 2008)
Page navigation anchor for Money Matters
Money Matters
Thomas L. Schwenk, Ann Arbor, MI USA
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 ca...
Show More

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
Show Less

Competing Interests: None declared.