Collaborative Primary Care Ineffective for PTSD in Veterans

Collaborative care has been shown to improve outcomes for depression and various anxiety disorders (see JW Psychiatry Jun 7 2010 and JW Gen Med Nov 10 2009) but has infrequently been studied for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In a 6-month, randomized, controlled trial, researchers compared the effects of usual primary care and collaborative care using the previously validated Three Component Model (instruction about PTSD for primary care physicians; centralized telephone care management; psychiatric supervision).

Participants were 195 veterans (mostly from the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan conflicts) receiving primary care at four Veterans Affairs medical centers. Although collaborative-care subjects were significantly more likely t…