Integrating care for people with depression: developments in the Netherlands.

INTRODUCTION: In this article we describe the history and present state of integrated care for people with depression in the Netherlands. The central question is: what are the developments in integrated care for people with depression in the Netherlands? METHODS: WE DESCRIBE THESE DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE ROLE OF AN OBSERVER, AND MAKE USE OF SEVERAL SOURCES: important Dutch policy documents and research documents, our own national survey carried out in 2007, a number of reports and project descriptions and searches in PubMed and Google. Also key people were contacted to supply additional information. RESULTS: In the Netherlands two separate phases can be distinguished within integrated care for people with depression. From the beginning of the 1990s, specialized secondary Mental Health Care (MHC) began to develop care programmes, including programmes for people with depression. The implementation of these care programmes has taken years. Mass usage of care programmes only went ahead once the large-scale mergers between ambulatory and clinical MHC organizations around 2000 had taken effect. An analysis of these programmes shows, that they did not lead to integration with primary care. This changed in the second phase from around 2000. Then attention was directed more towards strengthening the GP within the treatment of depression, collaboration between primary and specialized care and the development of collective integrated care packages. DISCUSSION: We relate these developments to projects in other countries and discuss the scientific basis by using evidence of international literature reviews and metastudies. Some general recommendations are given about functional costing, the physical presence of MHC specialists in the primary care sector and the use of a common national standard for both primary care and specialized MHC.

The impact of critical illness on perceived health-related quality of life during ICU treatment, hospital stay, and after hospital discharge: a long-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: The time course of changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) following discharge from the ICU and during a general ward stay has not been studied. We therefore studied the immediate impact of critical illness on HRQOL and its recovery over time. METHODS: In a prospective study, all patients admitted to the ICU for > 48 h who ultimately survived to follow-up at 6 months were included. The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short form was used to measure HRQOL before ICU admission, at discharge from the ICU and hospital, and at 3 and 6 months following discharge from the ICU and hospital. An age-matched healthy Dutch population was used as a reference. RESULTS: Of the 451 included patients, 252 could be evaluated at 6 months (40 were lost to follow-up, and 159 died). Pre-ICU admission HRQOL in survivors was significantly worse compared to the healthy population. Patients who died between ICU admission and long-term follow-up had significantly worse HRQOL in all dimensions already at ICU admission when compared to the long-term survivors. HRQOL decreased in all dimensions (p < 0.001) during ICU stay followed by a rapid improvement during hospital stay, gradually improving to near pre-ICU admission HRQOL at 6 months following ICU discharge. Physical functioning (PF), general health (GH), and social functioning (SF) remained significantly lower than pre-ICU admission values. Compared to the healthy Dutch population, ICU survivors had significantly lower HRQOL 6 months following ICU discharge (except for the bodily pain score). CONCLUSIONS: A sharp multidimensional decline in HRQOL occurs during ICU admission where recovery already starts following ICU discharge to the general ward. Recovery is incomplete for PF, GH, and SF when compared to baseline values and the healthy population.