The management of depression: the implications for managed care--roundtable discussion: Part 1

Depression affects not only the patient and the provider, but the employer as well. Up to 25% of all women experience major depressive disorder, compared with perhaps as many as 12% of all men. It is highly prevalent in patients with other acute and chronic disease. On October 4, 1999, a panel of managed care medical directors, pharmacy directors, clinicians, researchers, and health economists was convened in San Diego to discuss the optimal treatment of the disorder. This roundtable discussion is presented in three parts. The first portion lays the clinical foundation for the management of this critical disorder.