Nick Kates

Chronic Disease Management for Depression in Primary Care: A Summary of the Current Literature and Implications for Practice

Objective: To review randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating chronic disease management models for depression in primary care and to look at the implications for clinical practice in Canada. Methods: We reviewed all RCTs conducted between 1992 and 2006, including other reviews and analyses of pooled data. Using various search terms, we searched PsycINFO, Cinahl (1982 to May 2005), MEDLINE (1995 to 2005), EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, and PubMed. Results: There is conclusive evidence for the benefits of changing systems of care delivery to support the more effective management of depression in primary care. Most studies have demonstrated improved outcomes in terms of symptom reduction, relapse prevention, functioning in the community, adherence to treatment, community and workplace involvement, and satisfaction with care received. Conclusions: Primary care practices need to examine how they can incorporate different concepts and models for managing depression. Components to consider include case registries, care managers or coordinators, treatment algorithms, follow-up and monitoring after a treated episode, care and relapse prevention plans, visits by psychiatrists, and training and ongoing education for all providers.

Shared Mental Health Care in Canada

The family physician already plays an extensive role as a provider of mental health care in almost every community in Canada. In theory, the family physician and the psychiatrist are natural partners in the mental health care system. While neither may be able to meet every need of a patient with a mental disorder, each can offer complementary services, which enables them to play a key role at different stages of an episode of illness and the subsequent period of recovery. Too often, however, family physicians and psychiatrists fail to establish the collaborative working relationships that would strengthen the role of the family physician, enhance the consultative role of the psychiatrist, and improve the quality of care their patients receive.

Integrating mental health services within primary care : A Canadian program

The increasingly prominent role of the family physician in delivering mental health care can be enhanced if productive and collaborative relationships can be established with local mental health services. This paper describes a Canadian program that has achieved this by bringing mental health counselors and psychiatrists into the offices of 87 family physicians in 35 practices in a community in Southern Ontario. The paper describes the program, the activities of counselors and psychiatrists within the practices, and the administrative structures set up to coordinate these activities. Data is presented from the evaluation of the first year of the programs operation (13 practices and 45 family physicians) during which time 3085 referrals were received. The program made mental health care more available and accessible, increased continuity of care, provided additional support for the family physician, offered new opportunities for continuing education, and led to a reduced and more efficient use of other mental health services. The components of the program can be adapted to most communities.

Sharing care : The psychiatrist in the family physician's office

Objective: One way of strengthening ties between primary care providers and psychiatrists is for a psychiatrist to visit a primary care practice on a regular basis to see and discuss patients and to provide educational input and advice for family physicians. This paper reviews the experiences of a program in Hamilton, Ontario that brings psychiatrists and counsellors into the offices of 88 local family physicians in 36 practices. Method: Data are presented based on the activities of psychiatrists working in 13 practices over a 2-year period. Data were gathered from forms routinely completed by family physicians when making a referral and by psychiatrists whenever they saw a new case. An annual satisfaction questionnaire for all providers participating in the program was also used to gather information. Results: Over a 2-year period, 1021 patients were seen in consultation by one full-time equivalent psychiatrist. The average duration of a consultation was 51 minutes, and a family member was present for 12% of the visits. Twenty-one percent of the patients were seen for at least one follow-up visit, 75% of which were prearranged. In addition, 1515 cases were discussed during these visits without the patient being seen. All participants had a high satisfaction rating for their involvement with the project. Conclusions: Benefits of this approach include increased accessibility to psychiatric consultation, enhanced continuity of care, support for family physicians, and improved communication between psychiatrists and family physicians. This model, which has great potential for innovative approaches to continuing education and resident placements, demands new skills of participating psychiatrists.

General Practice and Mental Health Care: Determinants of Outpatient Service Use:

Objective: To examine the determinants that lead Canadian adults to consult family physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and other health professionals for mental health reasons and to compare the determinants of service use across provider types. Method: Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being were used for people aged 18 years and older (n = 35 236). A multivariate logistic regression was used to model outpatient consultations with different providers as a function of predictive determinants. Result: Three types of variables were examined: need, enabling, and predisposing factors. Among need, the most common predictors of service use for mental health reasons were self-rated mental health, the presence of chronic conditions, depression and panic attacks, unmet mental health needs, psychological well-being, and the ability to handle daily demands. Among enabling factors, emotional and informational support and income were important predictors. Among predisposing factors, men were less likely to consult with a family physician and other resources but not with psychiatrists; and people with less education were less likely to consult psychologists and other health providers. Conclusion: Need factors were the most important predictors of both psychiatrist and combined family physician and psychiatrist consultation in the previous year. However, sex barriers remain and promotion campaigns in seeking mental health care should be aimed toward men. Further, education and income barriers exist in the use of specialty providers of psychotherapy and policies should thus focus on rendering these services more accessible to disadvantaged people.

Integrating Mental Health Services within Primary Care Settings The Hamilton Family Health Team

For 16 years, the Hamilton Family Health Team Mental Health Program has successfully integrated mental health counselors, addiction specialists, child mental health professionals, and psychiatrists into 81 offices of 150 family physicians in Hamilton, Ontario. Maximising the potential of a “shared care” model requires changes within the primary care setting, to support the addition of mental health and addiction professionals, active involvement of primary care staff in managing mental health problems of patients, and collaborative practice. This coordinated effort allow mental health treatment through onsite support from a mental health team and supplants the need to refer most patients to the mental health setting. This article reviews the evolution of the program and the changes made by practices with key lessons learnt.

Counsellors in Primary Care: Benefits and Lessons Learned

Objective: To describe a program that integrates mental health counsellors within primary care settings, to present data on the programs impact, and to discuss lessons learned that may apply in other communities. Methods: This paper describes a Canadian program that brings counsellors and psychiatrists into the offices of 87 family physicians in 36 practices in a community of 460 000 in Southern Ontario. It describes the goals and organization of the program and the activities of counsellors when working in primary care. In addition, it summarizes data from the programs evaluation, including demographic data and the individual problems seen and services delivered (all from the programs database) as well as data on patient outcomes using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CESD) Rating Scale, and consumer-satisfaction questionnaires. Results: Each counsellor sees an average of 161 new cases yearly. The major problems are depression, anxiety, and family problems. In fact, over 70% of individuals who are seen show significant improvements in outcomes. The program has led to a significant increase in access to mental health services, a reduction in the use of traditional mental health services, high levels of satisfaction with counsellors and family physicians, and significant improvements in symptoms and functioning of individuals seen. Conclusion: This program has effectively integrated counsellors within primary care settings, increasing the capacity of primary care to handle mental health problems, strengthening links between providers from different sectors, and making mental health care more accessible.

An integrated regional Emergency Psychiatry Service

This paper presents a model of an integrated Psychiatric Emergency Service serving Hamilton, a community of 450,000 in Southern Ontario. It describes the evolution of the service and how it has integrated five separate, hospital-run Emergency Psychiatric Services into a single service. The principles of the service and ways in which it operates are outlined and the advantages and drawbacks of the model are discussed. The authors conclude that such a model leads to a more efficient use of resources and is adaptable to most urban communities with a similar, or even larger population.

Psychiatric consultation in the family physician's office: Advantages and hidden benefits

Family physicians spend up to 40% of their time dealing with emotional and psychiatric problems and may be the only caretaker for 60% of all episodes of psychiatric illness. One way of strengthening the role of the family physician in managing psychiatric problems in their practices is by involving them in an initial psychiatric assessment, which may entail the patient being seen in the primary care setting. This intervention, offered by a community mental health center (CMHC) in Ontario, Canada, was evaluated by examining all cases referred by family physicians over a 3-year period and comparing those seen in consultation in family physicians offices with those seen in consultation in the CMHC. While the office consultation appears to be a cost-effective intervention, the main factor that determined whether it took place appeared to be the attitude of the referring physician rather than the nature of presenting problem. Other benefits arising from such a liaison-consultation relationship are also discussed.

Sharing Mental Health Care: Training Psychiatry Residents to Work With Primary Care Physicians

Overcoming problems in communication between psychiatry and primary care requires new models of collaboration. Their success will depend upon the ability of participants to work productively with each other, which will require psychiatry residency programs to offer appropriate preparation for future graduates in working with primary care physicians. This article, based on the training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, describes a brief curriculum for training psychiatry residents to work effectively with primary care physicians that can be easily integrated with current training rotations and looks at adjustments academic departments need to make to support such programs.