A REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED TRIALS OF PSYCHIATRIC CONSULTATION-LIAISON STUDIES IN PRIMARY-CARE

The field of consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry has developed a var iety of research interventions to try to improve the recognition and t reatment of mental disorders in primary care. The authors review the r esults of three generations of randomized trials of mental health inte rventions developed by C-L psychiatrists. In general, these trials hav e been more successful in improving detection of mental illness and in creasing the application of mental health treatments by primary care p hysicians than in changing patient outcomes. The results of these rand omized trials are interpreted by using models developed in the health services field.