Background: Depression is a disorder with high prevalence in primary health care and a significant
burden of illness. The delivery of health care for depression, as well as other chronic illnesses, has
been criticized for several reasons and new strategies to address the needs of these illnesses have
been advocated. Case management is a patient-centered approach which has shown efficacy in the
treatment of depression in highly organized Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) settings and
which might also be effective in other, less structured settings.