Most people with a mental health disorder remain either untreated or poorly treated. The growing burden of mental illness and the huge unmet need present an unprecedented challenge in organizing, financing, and delivering effective mental health services.
Health care reform sees a central role for primary care in the delivery and coordination of services, especially for the chronically ill, and so provides a unique opportunity to better integrate mental health services into primary care.
Achieving this goal would make a substantial contribution toward expanding access to mental health services, improving the physical health of people with mental illness and the mental health of people with chronic physical illnesses, and addressing current health care inequalities for people with mental health problems, especially for those who are from racial and ethnic minorities.