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Winter 2009/10 | Vol 13 No 2

Research update

Mark de la Hey

Collaborative care boosts return to work

Collaborative mental health care improves the chances that employees receiving short-term disability benefits due to mental health problems will return to work, while also resulting in cost savings for the employer, according to a study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. The study followed 124 employees diagnosed with psychiatric disorders who worked at a large financial insurance company that had set up a collaborative mental health care (CMHC) program. Most of the employees had either major depressive disorder or adjustment disorder. Seventy-three were referred to the CMHC program in addition to receiving short-term disability benefits, while 51 control participants received only disability benefits. Eighty-five per cent of those in the CMHC group ended up returning to work, and seven per cent went on to long-term disability. In the comparison group, only 63 per cent returned to work and 31 per cent went on long-term disability. Those in the CMHC group averaged 62 days on short-term disability, compared with 76 days for the controls. The employer benefited from the CMHC program as well, with an average cost of $2,023 for each employee in the program, while the comparison group averaged $2,378. The authors conclude that the CMHC model of disability management is a worthwhile investment because it is less costly and more effective in helping employees get adequate treatment for their psychiatric disorders.

Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, June 2009, v. 54: 379–388. Carolyn S. Dewa et al., Work and Well-Being Research and Evaluation Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario.