Mental Health In Primary Care

On March 19, Dr. Larry Culpepper, Chair of the Family Medicine Department, and Dr. Doug Hughes, Clerkship Director for Psychiatry, led a very informative lunch-time discussion on the role of the primary care physician in mental health care, as well as the importance of collaboration between psychiatrists and PCPs. Dr. Culpepper spoke about research demonstrating the importance of treating depression in improving health outcomes for patients with diabetes and heart disease. In addition, Dr. Hughes highlighted the necessity of teamwork between psychiatrists and PCPs to minimize harmful drug interactions as well as to monitor the adverse systemic side effects of some psychiatric drugs and conversely the adverse psychiatric outcomes related to systemic treatments. Overall, Dr. Culpepper and Dr. Hughes highlighted the need for clinicians to be aware of mental illness and its impact on patient functioning, as well as the need for insurance companies to ensure parity for both mental health and systemic diseases.