Cover: Depression in Primary Care

Depression in Primary Care

Learning Lessons in a National Quality Improvement Program

Published in: Administration and Policy in Mental Health, v. 33, no. 1, Jan. 2006, p. 3-16

Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 2006

by Harold Alan Pincus, Constance Pechura, Donna J. Keyser, John Bachman, Jeanie Knox Houtsinger

In this introduction, the authors describe the overall context and rationale for the Depression in Primary Care program and the design and implementation of its key components, especially emphasizing its unique combined clinical and economic/systems framework. The authors also discuss some of the new challenges and opportunities that may impact the program's evolution and the state of behavioral health care more generally. The authors conclude with some thoughts on potential future scenarios and strategies for improving the quality of behavioral health care, including the treatment of depression in primary care.

This report is part of the RAND Corporation External publication series. Many RAND studies are published in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, as chapters in commercial books, or as documents published by other organizations.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.