CARING FOR DEPRESSION by Kenneth B. Wells, etc., Roland Sturm ( 9780674097308 )

Item Details

Title:

CARING FOR DEPRESSION

By:

Kenneth B. Wells, etc., Roland Sturm

Format:

Paperback

List price:

£33.95

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£26.48

Discount:

22% off

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£7.47

ISBN 10:

0674097300

ISBN 13:

9780674097308

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Publisher:

HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

5 May, 1999

Series:

RAND Study S.

Pages:

264

Description:

This work looks at the challenge posed for the changing American health-care system by the care of depressed patients. It examines the undertreatment of depression in the US and the shift of mental-health care away from specialists to primary medical care and the subsequent problems incurred.

Synopsis:

One of the major concerns about the changing US healthcare systems is whether they will improve or diminish the quality and cost-effectiveness of medical care. The shift from a fee-for-service to a prepaid method of reimbursement has greatly changed the incentives of patients to seek care as well as those of providers to supply it. This change poses a particular challenge for care of depressed patients, a vulnerable population that often does not advocate for its own care. This book documents the inefficiencies of our national systems - prepaid as well as fee-for-service - for treating depression and explores how they can be improved. Although depression is a major illness affecting millions of people, it is seriously undertreated in the United States. The ongoing shift of mental-health care away from specialists and toward primary medical-care providers is causing fewer depressed patients to be appropriately diagnozed and treated. Depression is frequently more devastating than other major illnesses, such as arthritis and heart disease, because it often begins at a younger age, when people are at their productive peak and thus at risk of permanently damaging their careers.It also differs from many medical conditions in that it its indirect costs are usually much higher than direct treatment costs. The authors urge the integration of both medical and economic considerations in designing policies for the treatment of depression. They show that by spending more money efficiently on care, the nation will gain greater health improvements per dollar invested and a more productive population.

Illustrations:

24 line illustrations

Publication:

Imprint:

Harvard University Press

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

A REVIEW OF THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE AS IT PERTAINS TO GULF WAR ILLNESSES (PB)

BEATING DEPRESSION (PB)

COMPETITION POLICY AND THE REGULATION OF THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY INDUSTRY IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY (PB)

CONSERVATIVE PARTIES AND RIGHT-WING POLITICS IN NORTH AMERICA (PB)