Collaborative care for the treatment of depression is a complex intervention developed in the US that incorporates a multi-professional approach to patient care; a structured management plan; scheduled patient follow-ups; and enhanced inter-professional communication. In practice, it is achieved by the introduction of a care manager into primary care, responsible for delivering care to patients with depression under the supervision of a specialist, and for liaising between primary care doctors and mental health specialists.
Most studies of this approach have been conducted in the US, and as such NICE was unable to recommend it in its clinical guideline on depression in adults. It did however issue a research recommendation calling for a for a fully powered UK evaluation of collaborative care.
The collaborative care intervention utilised in this study was designed following systematic review, in-depth interviews, and consultation with the originators of the invention in the US. It was carefully developed to apply outside the US, in healthcare systems with a well developed primary care sector.
NICE has announced that it will be considering these study findings when the depression guideline next comes up for review.