Editorial: Primary care psychiatry in Pakistan: Issues and challenges

The awareness campaign theme for this year's world mental health day 2009 is mental health in primary care: enhancing treatment and promoting mental health, which goes a long way in establishing the due credence of primary care psychiatry. definition of primary care has been given as: primary care is the provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health-care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community. primary care is expected to be a long-term relationship between a person and their doctor. provision of mental health care through primary health care is popularly dubbed as primary care psychiatry.