Managing late-life depression in primary care practice: a case study of the Health Specialist's role

Complexities in the diagnosis and treatment of late-life depression have st imulated various strategies for assisting the primary care physician to ful fil these tasks more effectively. The role of Health Specialist was develop ed for this purpose in a study to reduce suicidality among older depressed patients. This role includes clinical and case management tasks which aim t o provide the physician with timely, patient-specific information and recom mendations. Evolution of this role and its rewards/stressors during the stu dy's first year are described. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.