The Economics of Depression in Primary Care: Department of Health Initiatives

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most mental illness is treated in primary and not secondary care settings, with depression and anxiety the commonest conditions encountered. METHOD: The paper describes on-going Department of Health initiatives to optimise the primary care of common mental illnesses such as depression. DISCUSSION: Primary care attenders with depression are often higher consumers of general health care than non-depressed attenders. Further data will become available soon from these ongoing studies to inform the debate on the optimal use of available resources in primary care. There is a particular need to evaluate non-pharmacological interventions in primary care.