Site matters: winning the hearts and minds of patients in a cardiology clinic.
BACKGROUND
In medical care settings, mental health symptoms of depression and distress are associated with poor medical outcomes, yet they are often underrecognized.


OBJECTIVE
Authors sought to examine the effect of having immediate mental-health screening in the cardiology clinic.


METHODS
The Patient Health Questionnaire and the Impact of Event Scale were used to screen for depression and distress in 316 patients at an urban cardiology clinic. Because of poor follow-up rates, a psychiatrist was placed on the premises of the cardiology clinic to facilitate referrals.


RESULTS
Placing a psychiatrist within the cardiology clinic significantly improved the rate of successful referrals.


CONCLUSIONS
Because 45 patients (14%) endorsed suicidal thoughts, authors conclude that mental health screening programs should include an immediate evaluation by a clinician.
Annunziato
Rachel A
RA
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. rachel.annunziato@mssm.edu
Rubinstein
David
D
Sheikh
Saqib
S
Maurer
Martin
M
Cotter
Gad
G
McKay
Mary M
MM
Milo-Cotter
Olga
O
Gorman
Jack M
JM
Shemesh
Eyal
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002309:Cardiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D016730:Program Development; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult