Primary care physicians have the potential to detect “distress” diagnoses and mental or behavioral disorders in most patients who come to the office, noted Dr. Lawrence “Bopper” Deyton, senior associate dean for clinical public health and professor of medicine and health policy at George Washington University.
If one embraces the Acceptable Care Act’s priorities of improving quality of care, reducing cost, and improving patient satisfaction, “Aren’t we at the cusp of a reimbursement system that should reward for that?” he asks.
Kennedy Forum policy director Lauren Alfred says there’s only so much that can be done. “Then at some point, we have to talk about collaborative care ... and where we’re going to bring specialists into the equation.”
In this video, Dr. Deyton and Ms. Alfred discuss how much mental health care primary care physicians should be asked to shoulder – and when such care should be more collaborative.