Jump to: Page Content, Site Navigation, Site Search,
You are seeing this message because your web browser does not support basic web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.
1 Dartmouth Medical School, HB 7250, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
2 Center for Health Services Research. Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA
3 Weill Medical College of Cornell University, White Plains, NY 10605, USA
4 University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, UCHSC at Fitzsimmons, Aurora, CO 80010, USA
5 Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, IN 46202-2859, USA
6 Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center, Portland, OR 97207-1034, USA
7 Center for Research Strategies, Denver, CO 80203-1694, USA
Objective To test the effectiveness of an evidence based model for management of depression in primary care with support from quality improvement resources.
Design Cluster randomised controlled trial.
Setting Five healthcare organisations in the United States and 60 affiliated practices.
Patients 405 patients, aged
18 years, starting or changing treatment for depression.
Intervention Care provided by clinicians, with staff providing telephone support under supervision from a psychiatrist.
Main outcome measures Severity of depression at three and six months (Hopkins symptom checklist-20): response to treatment (
50% decrease in scores) and remission (score of <0.5).
Results At six months, 60% (106 of 177) of patients in intervention practices had responded to treatment compared with 47% (68 of 146) of patients in usual care practices (P=0.02). At six months, 37% of intervention patients showed remission compared with 27% for usual care patients (P=0.014). 90% of intervention patients rated their depression care as good or excellent at six months compared with 75% of usual care patients (P=0.0003).
Conclusion Resources such as quality improvement programmes can be used effectively in primary care to implement evidence based management of depression and improve outcomes for patients with depression.
Read all Rapid Responses
UK medical students have published unreleased government plans to restrict failed asylum seekers' access to medical care