OBJECTIVE: This study, entitled Primary Care Research in Substance Abuse and Mental Health for the Elderly, examined six-month outcomes for older primary care patients with depression who received different models of treatment.
METHODS: Clinical outcomes were compared for patients who were randomly assigned to integrated care or enhanced specialty referral. Integrated care consisted of mental health services co-located in primary care in collaboration with primary care physicians. Enhanced specialty referral consisted of referral to physically separate, clearly identified mental health or substance abuse clinics.
RESULTS: A total of 1,531 patients were included; their mean age was 73.9 years. Remission rates and symptom reduction for all depressive disorders were similar for the two models at the three- and six-month follow-ups. For the subgroup with major depression, the enhanced specialty referral model was associated with a greater reduction in depression severity than integrated care, but rates of remission and change in function did not differ across models of care for major depression.
CONCLUSIONS: Six-month outcomes were comparable for the two models. For the subgroup with major depression, reduction in symptom severity was superior for those randomly assigned to the enhanced specialty referral group.