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Challenges of Implementing Depression Care Management in the Primary Care Setting

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Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Empirical evidence shows that care management is an effective tool for improving depression treatment in primary care patients. However, several conceptual and practical issues have not been sufficiently addressed. This article explores questions concerning the scope of care management services within the chronic illness care model; optimal ways to identify depressed patients in the primary care setting; responsibilities and desirable qualifications of depression care managers; the location and manner in which care managers interact with patients; costs of services provided by care managers; and the level of supervision by mental health specialists that is necessary to ensure quality care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research on Health Care, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Suite 600, 230 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA, 5213-25821, USA

    Bea Herbeck Belnap & Bruce L. Rollman

  2. University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Health Systems, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Julie Kuebler

  3. Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Carole Upshur & Deborah Ruth Mockrin

  4. University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Kevin Kerber

  5. VA Pittsburgh Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion and the Center for Research on Health Care, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Amy M. Kilbourne

Authors
  1. Bea Herbeck Belnap
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  2. Julie Kuebler
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  3. Carole Upshur
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  4. Kevin Kerber
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  5. Deborah Ruth Mockrin
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  6. Amy M. Kilbourne
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  7. Bruce L. Rollman
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Correspondence to Bea Herbeck Belnap.

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Belnap, B.H., Kuebler, J., Upshur, C. et al. Challenges of Implementing Depression Care Management in the Primary Care Setting. Adm Policy Ment Health 33, 65–75 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-005-4237-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-005-4237-z

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