TY - JOUR KW - Adult KW - Depressive Disorder/therapy KW - Family Practice/standards KW - Female KW - Health Services Research/methods KW - Humans KW - Information Services KW - Male KW - Managed Care Programs/standards KW - Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)/statistics & numerical data KW - Program Evaluation KW - Quality Assurance, Health Care/organization & administration KW - Quality of Health Care KW - Sickness Impact Profile KW - United States AU - K. B. Wells AU - C. Sherbourne AU - M. Schoenbaum AU - N. Duan AU - L. Meredith AU - J. Unutzer AU - J. Miranda AU - M. F. Carney AU - L. V. Rubenstein A1 - AB - CONTEXT: Care of patients with depression in managed primary care settings often fails to meet guideline standards, but the long-term impact of quality improvement (QI) programs for depression care in such settings is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine if QI programs in managed care practices for depressed primary care patients improve quality of care, health outcomes, and employment. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial initiated from June 1996 to March 1997. SETTING: Forty-six primary care clinics in 6 US managed care organizations. PARTICIPANTS: Of 27332 consecutively screened patients, 1356 with current depressive symptoms and either 12-month, lifetime, or no depressive disorder were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: Matched clinics were randomized to usual care (mailing of practice guidelines) or to 1 of 2 QI programs that involved institutional commitment to QI, training local experts and nurse specialists to provide clinician and patient education, identification of a pool of potentially depressed patients, and either nurses for medication follow-up or access to trained psychotherapists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Process of care (use of antidepressant medication, mental health specialty counseling visits, medical visits for mental health problems, any medical visits), health outcomes (probable depression and health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and employment at baseline and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Patients in QI (n = 913) and control (n = 443) clinics did not differ significantly at baseline in service use, HRQOL, or employment after nonresponse weighting. At 6 months, 50.9% of QI patients and 39.7% of controls had counseling or used antidepressant medication at an appropriate dosage (P or = .21). At 6 months, 47.5% of QI patients and 36.6% of controls had a medical visit for mental health problems (P = .001), and QI patients were more likely to see a mental health specialist at 6 months (39.8% vs 27.2%; P<.001) and at 12 months (29.1% vs 22.7%; P = .03). At 6 months, 39.9% of QI patients and 49.9% of controls still met criteria for probable depressive disorder (P = .001), with a similar pattern at 12 months (41.6% vs 51.2%; P = .005). Initially employed QI patients were more likely to be working at 12 months relative to controls (P = .05). CONCLUSIONS: When these managed primary care practices implemented QI programs that improve opportunities for depression treatment without mandating it, quality of care, mental health outcomes, and retention of employment of depressed patients improved over a year, while medical visits did not increase overall. BT - JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association C5 - Key & Foundational CP - 2 CY - UNITED STATES IS - 2 JF - JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association N2 - CONTEXT: Care of patients with depression in managed primary care settings often fails to meet guideline standards, but the long-term impact of quality improvement (QI) programs for depression care in such settings is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine if QI programs in managed care practices for depressed primary care patients improve quality of care, health outcomes, and employment. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial initiated from June 1996 to March 1997. SETTING: Forty-six primary care clinics in 6 US managed care organizations. PARTICIPANTS: Of 27332 consecutively screened patients, 1356 with current depressive symptoms and either 12-month, lifetime, or no depressive disorder were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: Matched clinics were randomized to usual care (mailing of practice guidelines) or to 1 of 2 QI programs that involved institutional commitment to QI, training local experts and nurse specialists to provide clinician and patient education, identification of a pool of potentially depressed patients, and either nurses for medication follow-up or access to trained psychotherapists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Process of care (use of antidepressant medication, mental health specialty counseling visits, medical visits for mental health problems, any medical visits), health outcomes (probable depression and health-related quality of life [HRQOL]), and employment at baseline and at 6- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Patients in QI (n = 913) and control (n = 443) clinics did not differ significantly at baseline in service use, HRQOL, or employment after nonresponse weighting. At 6 months, 50.9% of QI patients and 39.7% of controls had counseling or used antidepressant medication at an appropriate dosage (P or = .21). At 6 months, 47.5% of QI patients and 36.6% of controls had a medical visit for mental health problems (P = .001), and QI patients were more likely to see a mental health specialist at 6 months (39.8% vs 27.2%; P<.001) and at 12 months (29.1% vs 22.7%; P = .03). At 6 months, 39.9% of QI patients and 49.9% of controls still met criteria for probable depressive disorder (P = .001), with a similar pattern at 12 months (41.6% vs 51.2%; P = .005). Initially employed QI patients were more likely to be working at 12 months relative to controls (P = .05). CONCLUSIONS: When these managed primary care practices implemented QI programs that improve opportunities for depression treatment without mandating it, quality of care, mental health outcomes, and retention of employment of depressed patients improved over a year, while medical visits did not increase overall. PP - UNITED STATES PY - 2000 SN - 0098-7484; 0098-7484 SP - 212 EP - 220 EP - T1 - Impact of disseminating quality improvement programs for depression in managed primary care: A randomized controlled trial T2 - JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association TI - Impact of disseminating quality improvement programs for depression in managed primary care: A randomized controlled trial U1 - Key & Foundational U2 - 10634337 VL - 283 VO - 0098-7484; 0098-7484 Y1 - 2000 ER -