New Hope for Depression Treatment

Hi, everyone.  I was reading this article in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press and thought I would share it with you.  It's about results of a depression treatment initiative that tries to improve the quality of care for patients in Minnesota and surrounding states.  I felt rather excited after reading it.  It's a bit lengthy, but very impressive.

Michael Trangle: Collaboration, measurement show startling promise for treatment of depression

Pioneer Press

Updated: 08/20/2009 05:49:54 PM CDT

Clinical depression is associated with many different symptoms, but two of the most disheartening are the profound loneliness that many sufferers experience and the loss of normal initiative, energy, concentration, follow-through and just plain ability to get things done. But too often, and for too long, we have left depression sufferers alone and stuck in an awful spot.

Research suggests, for example, that primary care providers tend to spot major depression in only about half of those who have it. Less than half of those patients get appropriate treatment, and less than half of those are significantly better a year later. Most patients who fail to improve after their first treatment never receive another one. A large percentage of patients with depression never really finish their treatment.

In Minnesota exciting initiatives are being implemented that have the potential to dramatically improve care.

This is why the newly released, first-year results of a Minnesota depression treatment initiative are being received with a mix of enthusiasm and, quite frankly, some astonishment. Started in 2008 and in place at 48 primary-care clinics around the state, it's credited with helping almost half of participating depression patients make a full recovery in only six months. Treatment results show improvement up to 10 times better than the norm. This is a big deal, because a lot of people are debilitated by depression, and the majority of them can get better.

The program is called DIAMOND (Depression Improvement Across Minnesota, Offering New Direction), and it's backed by medical groups, health plans, employers, patients and the Minnesota Department of Human Services. It's run under the auspices of the Minnesota-based Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) - an independent, non-profit organization that brings groups together to improve the quality of patient care in Minnesota and surrounding states.

And why is this effort exceeding even the most aggressive "stretch" goals its creators dared to envision? In a word, it's collaboration.

Rather than relying on a primary care provider alone, it adds a care manager who stays in touch with each patient during treatment and adds a consulting psychiatrist to the team. This extended care team has standardized, evidence-based tools to assess ongoing progress, modify treatment approaches when necessary and help the recovering patient from falling back into depression. With frequent patient contact, education and encouragement, more patients get better.