The clinical outcomes were somatic and distress symptoms, health care utilization, and associated costs. Clinic contact time was an average of 55 minutes per patient. Patients and providers reported high levels of satisfaction with the protocol. Reductions in symptoms were minimal for both groups. Use of outpatient services and associated costs decreased in both groups, but the reduction was twice as great in the treatment group as in the control group.
Findings support the feasibility of implementing the protocol as a primary care intervention.
Ann Intern Med. In part by grant 431537 from the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and grant AG00932-01 from the National Institute on Aging.