Patient education and psychiatric visits integrated into primary care were associated with decreased outpatient medical costs and were more effective in reducing panic attack symptoms. Wayne Katon, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, was the lead author on this study published this month in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

In the study, Peter Roy-Byrne, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, integrated a psychiatrist into three primary-care clinics in the Seattle area in order to help primary-care physicians with pharmacologic management for patients with anxiety disorders. Seventy to 75 percent of the patients who participated in the collaborative-care program showed improved outcomes, compared to a 40 percent improvement associated with only primary-care treatment. The collaborative-care patients were more likely to take anti-anxiety medication as prescribed and also rated more days as anxiety-free compared to the primary-care-only patients.