Treatment of Department of Veterans Affairs primary care patients with posttraumatic stress disorder

• Published in: Psychological services 2011-05, Vol.8 (2), p.82-93
• Main Authors: Possemato, Kyle, Ouimette, Paige, Lantinga, Larry J., Wade, Michael, Coolhart, Deb, Schohn, Mary, Labbe, Allison, Strutynski, Kate
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Female; Health Care Delivery; Health Care Utilization; Human; Integrated Services; Male; Mental health services; Military Veterans; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Primary Health Care; Supportive psychotherapy; Treatment; Veterans
• ISSN: 1541-1559; 1939-148X
• DOI: 10.1037/a0022704

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is common among Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care patients and may be managed via multiple treatment pathways. Using the Behavioral Model of Health Service Use (Anderson, 1995), this retrospective study based on medical chart review examined factors associated with three types of mental health treatment: intervention by a 1) primary care provider (PCP), 2) primary care-mental health integration (PC-MHI) provider, and 3) specialty mental health (SMH) provider. A second goal was to describe PTSD treatment services for patients not receiving SMH by detailing the content of mental health treatment provided by PCPs and PC-MHI providers. Electronic medical record data for a five year time period for 133 Veterans were randomly selected for review from a population 6,637 primary care patients with PTSD. Results indicated that the evaluated needs of participants (i.e., number of unique medical and psychiatric disorders) were associated with Veterans receiving more intensive services (i.e., SMH). PCPs commonly addressed patients' mental health concerns, but patients often declined referrals for mental health treatment. PC-MHI consultations most often focused on medication management and supportive psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)