Treatment delivery and guidelines in primary care: Depression and public health
Treatment delivery and guidelines in primary care: Depression and public health
Because depressive illness is so prevalent, the majority of patients are managed in primary care, without recourse to specialist services. Primary care management is seen to fall short of the standards set in secondary care, but unfortunately there is as yet relatively little evidence from primary care to guide management in this distinctive patient population. Guidelines have been introduced as a means of quality management, and their value in improving care has been assessed in trials. To date, the benefits of the implementation of guidelines have been marginal at best. By contrast, strategies which improve the access of patients to specialist services do seem to be beneficial. There is also evidence that such strategies may be associated with 'cost-offset'. Choice of antidepressant medication for maximum cost benefit should also be informed by an evidence base, which is beginning to be accumulated. Further research on this topic in the primary care context is still needed.
treatment, cost-benefit, depressive illness, guidelines, quality, trial, research, standards, primary-care, patients, england, secondary, strategies, benefits, delivery, primary care, population, care
193-206
Peveler, Robert
93198224-78d9-4c1f-9c07-fdecfa69cf96
Kendrick, Tony
c697a72c-c698-469d-8ac2-f00df40583e5
January 2001
Peveler, Robert
93198224-78d9-4c1f-9c07-fdecfa69cf96
Kendrick, Tony
c697a72c-c698-469d-8ac2-f00df40583e5
Peveler, Robert and Kendrick, Tony
(2001)
Treatment delivery and guidelines in primary care: Depression and public health.
British Medical Bulletin, 57 (1), .
(doi:10.1093/bmb/57.1.193).
Abstract
Because depressive illness is so prevalent, the majority of patients are managed in primary care, without recourse to specialist services. Primary care management is seen to fall short of the standards set in secondary care, but unfortunately there is as yet relatively little evidence from primary care to guide management in this distinctive patient population. Guidelines have been introduced as a means of quality management, and their value in improving care has been assessed in trials. To date, the benefits of the implementation of guidelines have been marginal at best. By contrast, strategies which improve the access of patients to specialist services do seem to be beneficial. There is also evidence that such strategies may be associated with 'cost-offset'. Choice of antidepressant medication for maximum cost benefit should also be informed by an evidence base, which is beginning to be accumulated. Further research on this topic in the primary care context is still needed.
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Published date: January 2001
Keywords:
treatment, cost-benefit, depressive illness, guidelines, quality, trial, research, standards, primary-care, patients, england, secondary, strategies, benefits, delivery, primary care, population, care
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Local EPrints ID: 62059
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/62059
ISSN: 0007-1420
PURE UUID: feeb91c4-6be2-4961-9c68-c7691438cb50
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Date deposited: 10 Sep 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:00
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