Geriatric psychiatry and managed care.

A wide gap exists in the American health care system between what we know good geriatric mental health care services should look like and the types of services generally available. Cost effective treatment requires a continuum of care in which geriatric psychiatry and primary care geriatric services are integrated in an aggressively case managed model. MCOs have the infrastructure and tools at their disposal to make this work, but they must incorporate into their programs and approaches expert knowledge of the unique clinical problems of the frail elderly.