Following Practice Guidelines Leads to Better Depression Outcomes

Evidence-based practice guidelines for depression in primary care address identification, management, and referral. In secondary analyses of data from randomized trials, researchers assessed clinician performance on 20 guideline-based quality indicators for depression care — and whether performance was associated with outcomes — in 1131 primary care patients in 45 practices. Adherence to the indicators was assessed by patient self-report. More than half the patients received care at practices where clinicians were trained to deliver collaborative depression care.

The proportion of patients whose care met standards set by the quality indicators was generally high (>70%) for detecting, discussing, and monitoring depression. Clinician adherence…