title: Improving Depression Care Through an Online Learning Collaborative.
abstract: Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, and many internists diagnose and treat depression. This study aimed to examine the impact of a practice improvement intervention on screening and managing patients with depression in primary care. This pre-post study design included a physician practice survey designed to capture what the physicians believed they were doing in practice, a chart audit tool to capture what physicians were actually doing in practice, and an intervention that included an evidence-based educational program, online toolkit, and practice improvement coaching conference calls that promoted group learning. Following completion of the intervention, participants increasingly used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to detect, diagnose, and gauge treatment success for depression and reported increased use of guidelines and team-based care. Although barriers to improving depression care exist, this study suggests that evidence-based quality improvement programs can positively affect practice.
authors.affiliation: American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA mstarkey@acponline.org.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Starkey
authors.affiliation: Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, Camden, NJ.
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wiest
authors.affiliation: American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Qaseem
mesh_terms: D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration
keywords: PHQ-9; depression; primary care; quality improvement