CoCM as Effective for Treating Bipolar Disorder & PTSD as Specialty Care

A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry shows that Collaborative Care (CoCM) for bipolar disorder and/or PTSD is just as effective as treatment provided by a psychiatrist and psychologist. Both Collaborative Care and specialty mental health care were delivered by telemedicine to patients in federally qualified health centers. As stated in the article, “Patients in both groups experienced large and clinically meaningful improvements from baseline to 12 months.”

While a handful of other studies have examined Collaborative Care for bipolar disorder or PTSD, this is the first study that directly compares Collaborative Care to specialty mental health care. 

• Publication: Comparison of Teleintegrated Care & Telereferral Care for Treating Complex Psychiatric Disorders in Primary Care
• Interview: Authors Dr. John Fortney and Dr. Jürgen Unützer discuss SPIRIT findings
• Resource: Collaborative Care for bipolar disorder and PTSD