The Societal Promise of Improving Care for Depression

s of all RAND Health publications and full text of many research documents can be found on the RAND Health Web site at www.rand.org/health. The RAND Corporation is a nonprofi t research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily refl ect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. RAND Offi ces Santa Monica, CA • Washington, DC • Pittsburgh, PA • New Orleans, LA/Jackson, MS • Doha, QA • Cambridge, UK • Brussels, BE ance plans cover the key components of collaborative care for depression, particularly care management (for example, phone follow-up), physician supervision of care managers, or a psychiatrist’s consultation with primary care physicians and care managers. Vulnerable populations face additional barriers, such as limited or no insurance and language barriers. Fee-for-service plans (such as Medicare) can make collaborative care services reimbursable. Managed care plans can require that health plans cover, and clinics provide, these services. Improved medical care has much to off er depressed patients and their families and communities if we can create the conditions necessary to put such programs in place. ■ This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service of the RAND Corporation. This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. Limited Electronic Distribution Rights THE ARTS