Lack of follow-up with mental health referrals on the part of primary care patients can result in detrimental personal consequences and financial costs to health care organizations. Co-located services and collaboration between mental health and medical professionals provide opportunities to mitigate this costly form of nonadherence. Introductions between patients and mental health providers at the time of referral represent one attempt to improve referral adherence that appears effective (Apostoleris, 2000; Guck, Guck, Brack, & Frey, 2007). However, little is known regarding the perceptions of an integral facilitator of this intervention, the primary care provider.

This study sought to identify those factors that influence primary care providers' (PCPs) decisions to engage co-located mental health professionals during the referral process via in-person patient introductions. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with ten primary care providers in order to improve understanding of PCPs' perceptions regarding the benefits of this form of referral, perceived barriers to its implementation, and potential means of enhancing utilization. PCPs asserted that in-person referral introductions are the preferred method of initiating mental health treatment for their patients due to the increased comfort and enhanced compliance believed to be associated with this form of referral. Barriers, including time constraints and lack of immediate mental health provider availability, interfere with the consistent use of referral introductions. Insights gained from this study support recommendations for improved targeting of referral introductions for specific patient populations and procedural changes to enhance consistency and efficacy of utilization.