Introduction

A groundbreaking meeting was held November 30 - December 1, 2000, to advance the integration of mental health services and primary health care. The meeting was an outgrowth of the U.S. Surgeon General's landmark report on mental health.¹

That report's single recommendation was to encourage people to seek help for mental illness. It found that a startling majority of adults and children with mental illness do not receive any services. The report featured primary care as one of the prime portals of entry into treatment-especially for those reluctant to access, or unaware of their need for, mental health services. Primary care was also seen as an opportune site for emphasizing wellness and prevention of mental illness. Yet few programs nationwide are expressly organized to integrate mental health services and primary health care-and even fewer have been evaluated fully.

The meeting ² was designed to set a blueprint for the future. Its specific objectives were to forge consensus among diverse participants on core principles and on a national action strategy for the integration of mental health services and primary health care.

Participants invited to the meeting represented a cross-section of consumers and families, insurers and health care systems, researchers and other experts, clinicians, and representatives from foundations and government (Appendix A). These groups are key to launching a new public/private approach.

This meeting report covers Surgeon General David Satcher's remarks, the format of the meeting, its highlights, and, finally, the core principles and national action strategy generated and voted upon by participants. The report does not include activities that have occurred since the Carter Center Meeting.