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Clinical Improvement Associated with Conformance to HEDIS-Based Depression Care

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Mental Health Services Research

Abstract

Background: Employers recently requested a valid metric of depression treatment quality. Such an indicator needs to measure the proportion of the population in need who receive high-quality care, and to predict clinical improvement.Methods: We constructed an administrative database indicator derived from HEDIS criteria for antidepressant medication management, and tested it in 230 employed patients in five health plans.Results: Indicator rates were 7.0% in the population in need. Conformance to indicator criteria in this population was associated with 23.0% improvement in depression severity over 1 year (p =.02).Conclusions: Administrative database indicators that predict clinical improvement are a very rare accomplishment. Existing depression indicators may need to be calculated for the population in need to provide a valid metric for employer purchasers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Studies in Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, U.S.A.

    Kathryn Rost, L. Miriam Dickinson & John Westfall

  2. Health Services Research and Development, Center for Mental Health and Outcomes Research, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, North Little Rock, AR and Centers for Mental Healthcare Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

    John Fortney

  3. Center for Quality Assessment and Improvement in Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Research Scientist, Health Institute, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, MA

    Richard C. Hermann

  4. Center for Studies in Family Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, UCHSC at Fitzsimons, P.O. Box 6508, Mail Stop F496, Aurora, CO, 80045-0508

    Kathryn Rost

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  1. Kathryn Rost
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  2. L. Miriam Dickinson
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  4. John Westfall
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Correspondence to Kathryn Rost.

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Rost, K., Dickinson, L.M., Fortney, J. et al. Clinical Improvement Associated with Conformance to HEDIS-Based Depression Care. Ment Health Serv Res 7, 103–112 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11020-005-3781-1

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