National Committee for Quality Assurance and Pfizer Inc Release Strategies for Treating Depression 7/6/2004
From: Brian Schilling, 202-955-5104 or Barry Scholl, or 202-955-5197, both of National Committee for Quality Assurance WASHINGTON, July 6 -- The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), in collaboration with Pfizer Inc, today released a new report profiling strategies and recommendations for diagnosing and treating depression. Quality Profiles(tm): The Leadership Series-Focus on Depression examines strategies to help health care organizations and employers improve depression management and remove barriers to effective treatment. "There's no excuse for millions of people with depression to be going without adequate treatment," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "It's expensive and it's just plain wrong." According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depressive disorders affect an estimated 19 million American adults, or nearly 10 percent of the population over 18. Additionally, only 9.5 million people with depression are diagnosed and only 8.3 million are treated. Pfizer collaborated with NCQA to focus on depression in the second edition of The Leadership Series because "depression so often casts its shadow over people suffering with concomitant conditions," said Pfizer US Pharmaceuticals' President Pat Kelly. "Diagnosing and treating depression is important to patients and their families whether it is the primary condition, or occurs concomitantly with illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and others." Many health care organizations have not yet implemented programs that assist primary care physicians in successfully identifying and treating patients with depression. Focus on Depression provides a tool that health care organizations and employers can use to improve depression management. Among the initiatives profiled in the report are: -- A collaborative effort emphasizing telephone outreach and education designed to connect female patients with appropriate treatment resources -- A large health plan's effort to increase medication compliance by streamlining the refill process, distributing tip sheets to members and engaging providers -- A small health plan's initiative to increase the rate of follow up care after mental illness hospitalization by identifying and eliminating barriers to follow-up care -- A network health plan's proactive strategies for identifying high-risk Medicare members by distributing behavioral health questionnaires to new enrollees By providing a powerful rationale for implementing quality improvement in the treatment of depression, as well as models of successfully implemented programs, the report aims to encourage other health care organizations to put similar programs into place for their members and stakeholders. Improving the care of behavioral disorders can help health plans and employers save, extend and improve the quality of members' lives, and reduce the societal and economic burden of depression. Quality Profiles(tm): The Leadership Series-Focus on Depression is the second in a series of new Quality Profiles publications designed to provide organizations with proven examples, case studies and resources in a specific therapeutic area that they can apply to their own quality improvement efforts. In narrowing the focus of each edition to a specific therapeutic area, The Leadership Series draws attention to significant "quality gaps" that lead to more than 57,000 avoidable deaths and billions of dollars in costs to American businesses each year. The first edition in this new series, Focus on Cardiovascular Disease, was released in November 2003. Focus on Depression features profiles from health plans that received NCQA Accreditation decisions of Excellent, Commendable, or Accredited between May 2000 and January 2004. Each study was analyzed by a panel of experts in terms of the nature of the activity, the health impact of the activity and the evidence of sustainability. Focus on Depression also features case studies that help to illuminate the need for multiple stakeholders in health care to work collaboratively toward a better quality of care in depression. To obtain a copy of Quality Profiles(tm): The Leadership Series-Focus on Depression, contact 1-888-412-3090 or visit http://www.profiles.org. Quality Profiles is a program supported by Pfizer Inc and is available now. NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations, and recognizes physicians and physician groups in key clinical areas and manages the evolution of HEDIS(r), the tool the nation's health plans use to measure and report on their performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices. Pfizer Inc is the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical company, providing a broad range of human and animal pharmaceuticals, as well as consumer products. With 120,000 employees worldwide, Pfizer is also deeply engaged in the global community, donating hundreds of millions of dollars of medicines to treat AIDS patients in Africa, to eliminate blinding trachoma in the developing world and to expand drug access in the United States. ------ Quality ProfilesTM is a trademark of NCQA. HEDIS(r) is a registered trademark of NCQA. Organizations Contributing to Focus on Depression Aetna -- Blue Bell, Pennsylvania; Horizon Behavioral Services Managed Care Division -- Lake Mary, Florida; Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. -- Northern California, Oakland, California; MidAmerica Business Coalition on Healthcare -- Kansas City, Missouri; PacifiCare of Arizona, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona; PacifiCare of Colorado, Inc. -- Greenwood Village, Colorado; Trilateral Partnership -- San Diego, California |