Integration of depression and primary care: barriers to adoption

Despite the prevailing consensus as to its value, the adoption of integrated care models is not widespread. Thus, the objective of this article it to examine the barriers to the adoption of depression and primary care models in the United States.

A literature search focused on peer-reviewed journal literature in Medline and PsycInfo. The search strategy focused on barriers to integrated mental health care services in primary care, and was based on previously existing searches. The search included: MeSH terms combined with targeted keywords; iterative citation searches in Scopus; searches for grey literature (literature not traditionally indexed by commercial publishers) in Google and organization websites, examination of reference lists, and discussions with researchers.

Integration of depression care and primary care faces multiple barriers. Patients and families face numerous barriers, linked inextricably to create challenges not easily remedied by any one party, including the following: vulnerable populations with special needs, patient and family factors, medical and mental health comorbidities, provider supply and culture, financing and costs, and organizational issues.

An analysis of barriers impeding integration of depression and primary care presents information for future implementation of services.