Collaboration, consultation and referral in an integrated health-mental health program at an HMO

The paper describes interactions between primary care physicians (PCP's) and mental health clinicians (MHC's) in a "team collaborative model." A study of the interactions showed there were about two consultations a day with PCP's for each MHC, that they were largely unscheduled, took place mostly in PCP or MHC offices or in corridors, and increased in frequency over a two-year period. Role definition was a continuing process; PCP's and MHC's each learned through repeated discussions what to expect from the other in patient care. It is found that a model with close working arrangements between PCP's and MHC's is of therapeutic value for that large population of emotionally disturbed patients seen often by PCP's much less often by MHC's.