Open AccessPatient-Centered Technological Assessment and Monitoring of Depression for Low-Income Patients
Author(s) -
Shinyi Wu,
Irene Vidyanti,
Pai Liu,
Caitlin Hawkins,
Magaly Ramirez,
Jeffrey J. Guterman,
Sandra Gross-Schulman,
Laura Myerchin Sklaroff,
Kathleen Ell
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the journal of ambulatory care management/journal of ambulatory care management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.639
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1550-3267
pISSN - 0148-9917
DOI - 10.1097/jac.0000000000000027
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , medicine , ambulatory care , health care , primary care , population , medical emergency , environmental health , family medicine , economics , macroeconomics , economic growth
Depression is a significant challenge for ambulatory care because it worsens health status and outcomes, increases health care utilizations and costs, and elevates suicide risk. An automatic telephonic assessment (ATA) system that links with tasks and alerts to providers may improve quality of depression care and increase provider productivity. We used ATA system in a trial to assess and monitor depressive symptoms of 444 safety-net primary care patients with diabetes. We assessed system properties, evaluated preliminary clinical outcomes, and estimated cost savings. The ATA system is feasible, reliable, valid, safe, and likely cost-effective for depression screening and monitoring for low-income primary care population.