Meeting the Mental Health Needs of the Homebound: A Psychiatric Consult Service Within a Home-Based Primary Care Program.

The growing population of homebound adults increasingly receives home-based primary care (HBPC) services. These patients are predominantly frail older adults who are homebound because of multiple medical comorbidities, yet they often also have psychiatric diagnoses requiring mental health care. Unfortunately, in-home psychiatric services are rarely available to homebound patients.

Anxiety disorders. Helping patients regain stability and calm.

Anxiety disorders affect more than 19 million American adults and are prevalent in the geriatric population. Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and other anxiety types can affect quality of life, precipitate social withdrawal, interfere with self-care, and exacerbate health problems. Anxiety disorders also may be associated with physical or mental disorders such as heart disease and depression.