Getting Mental Health Care Makes the Body Healthier — Especially for Seniors

With mental health care a pressing problem among seniors, advocates are pushing for bringing psychiatry back into the realm of primary care to boost physical as well as psychological well-being, reports Big Think . The collaborative care model is seen as an important step. The arrangement entails a behavioral healthcare manager and a psychiatrist being added to primary care, with the former acting as a consultant for the primary care physician. The behavioral healthcare manager could be a psychologist or a nurse skilled in managing mental health. The primary care provider would have some education in screening persons for mental health problems, who can then refer them to the behavioral healthcare manager. One study testing this model on subjects with depression determined over 12 months, half of participants reported an at least 50 percent reduction in their symptoms. Moreover, the research found that for each dollar spent on implementing the collaborative care model, hospitals get $7 back over four years.