Registering concern: the case of primary care registers for people with severe and enduring mental illness.

As the focus of mental health care has shifted from the hospital to the community, so the importance of effectively targeting resources on those with the greatest need has become paramount. One approach to identifying and targeting people deemed to have severe and enduring mental health problems is the establishment of mental health case registers at primary care level. This paper raises a number of conceptual issues associated with these registers and, on the basis of the available literature, offers suggestions to guide those who are contemplating their introduction.