CONTEXT: During the past decade, the introduction of generic versions of newer antidepressants and the release of Food and Drug Administration warnings regarding suicidality in children, adolescents, and young adults may have had an effect on cost and quality of depression treatment. OBJECTIVES: To examine longitudinal trends in health service utilization, spending, and quality of care for depression. DESIGN: Observational trend study. SETTING: Florida Medicaid enrollees, between July 1, 1996, and June 30, 2006. Patients Annual cohorts aged 18 to 64 years diagnosed as having depression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mental health care spending (adjusted for inflation and case mix), as well as its components, including inpatient, outpatient, and medication expenditures. Quality-of-care measures included medication adherence, psychotherapy, and follow-up visits. RESULTS: Mental health care spending increased from a mean of $2802 per enrollee to $3610 during this period (29% increase). This increase occurred despite a mean decrease in inpatient spending from $641 per enrollee to $373 and was driven primarily by an increase in pharmacotherapy spending (up 110%), the bulk of which was due to spending on antipsychotics (949% increase). The percentage of enrollees with depression who were hospitalized decreased from 9.1% to 5.1%, and the percentage who received psychotherapy decreased from 56.6% to 37.5%. Antidepressant use increased from 80.6% to 86.8%, anxiety medication use was unchanged at 62.7% and 64.4%, and antipsychotic use increased from 25.9% to 41.9%. Changes in quality of care were mixed, with antidepressant use improving slightly, psychotherapy utilization fluctuating, and follow-up visits decreasing. CONCLUSIONS: During a 10-year period, spending for Medicaid enrollees with depression increased substantially, with minimal improvements in quality of care. Antipsychotic use contributed significantly to the increase in spending, while contributing little to traditional measures of quality of care.
CONTEXT: During the past decade, the introduction of generic versions of newer antidepressants and the release of Food and Drug Administration warnings regarding suicidality in children, adolescents, and young adults may have had an effect on cost and quality of depression treatment. OBJECTIVES: To examine longitudinal trends in health service utilization, spending, and quality of care for depression. DESIGN: Observational trend study. SETTING: Florida Medicaid enrollees, between July 1, 1996, and June 30, 2006. Patients Annual cohorts aged 18 to 64 years diagnosed as having depression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mental health care spending (adjusted for inflation and case mix), as well as its components, including inpatient, outpatient, and medication expenditures. Quality-of-care measures included medication adherence, psychotherapy, and follow-up visits. RESULTS: Mental health care spending increased from a mean of $2802 per enrollee to $3610 during this period (29% increase). This increase occurred despite a mean decrease in inpatient spending from $641 per enrollee to $373 and was driven primarily by an increase in pharmacotherapy spending (up 110%), the bulk of which was due to spending on antipsychotics (949% increase). The percentage of enrollees with depression who were hospitalized decreased from 9.1% to 5.1%, and the percentage who received psychotherapy decreased from 56.6% to 37.5%. Antidepressant use increased from 80.6% to 86.8%, anxiety medication use was unchanged at 62.7% and 64.4%, and antipsychotic use increased from 25.9% to 41.9%. Changes in quality of care were mixed, with antidepressant use improving slightly, psychotherapy utilization fluctuating, and follow-up visits decreasing. CONCLUSIONS: During a 10-year period, spending for Medicaid enrollees with depression increased substantially, with minimal improvements in quality of care. Antipsychotic use contributed significantly to the increase in spending, while contributing little to traditional measures of quality of care.
Authors: Michael Schoenbaum; Jürgen Unützer; Daniel McCaffrey; Naihua Duan; Cathy Sherbourne; Kenneth B Wells Journal: Health Serv Res Date: 2002-10 Impact factor: 3.402
Authors: Ronald C Kessler; Patricia Berglund; Olga Demler; Robert Jin; Kathleen R Merikangas; Ellen E Walters Journal: Arch Gen Psychiatry Date: 2005-06
Authors: Tobias Gerhard; Ayse Akincigil; Christoph U Correll; Neil J Foglio; Stephen Crystal; Mark Olfson Journal: J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2014-05 Impact factor: 4.384
Authors: Vanessa Panaite; Nicholas W Bowersox; Kara Zivin; Dara Ganoczy; Hyungjin Myra Kim; Paul N Pfeiffer Journal: Health Serv Res Date: 2019-03-04 Impact factor: 3.402
Authors: Paul N Pfeiffer; Marcia Valenstein; Dara Ganoczy; Jennifer Henry; Steven K Dobscha; John D Piette Journal: Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol Date: 2016-10-25 Impact factor: 4.328
Authors: Paul N Pfeiffer; Nicholas Bowersox; Denis Birgenheir; Jennifer Burgess; Jane Forman; Marcia Valenstein Journal: J Behav Health Serv Res Date: 2016-01 Impact factor: 1.505
Authors: Marguerite E Burns; Haiden A Huskamp; Jessica C Smith; Jeanne M Madden; Stephen B Soumerai Journal: Med Care Date: 2016-09 Impact factor: 2.983