0
Sign In  | Subscribe
6 March 2001, Vol 134, No. 5>
Summaries for Patients | 6 March 2001

The Cost-Effectiveness of Screening Primary Care Patients for Depression FREE

[+] Article and Author Information

The summary below is from the full report titled “The Cost–Utility of Screening for Depression in Primary Care.” It is in the 6 March 2001 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 134, pages 345-360). The authors are M Valenstein, S Vijan, JE Zeber, K Boehm, and A Buttar.


Ann Intern Med. 2001;134(5):S83-. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-134-5-200103060-00003
Text Size: A A A

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Depression is an illness in which patients feel “down” and often lose interest in life. These feelings are sometimes an expected reaction to unfortunate life events; however, people may become depressed for no obvious reason. Feelings of depression can overwhelm people to the point where they lose their ability to carry out their usual activities. Depression is a very common problem, but it often goes undetected and untreated. Screening involves looking for depression in patients who see doctors for other reasons. Screening can improve the detection and, perhaps, treatment of depression. It is not known whether the costs of screening are worth its potential benefits, a concept known as cost-effectiveness.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

To estimate the cost-effectiveness of screening primary care patients for depression. Primary care patients are patients being seen for general and preventive medical care.

Who was studied?

Rather than studying actual patients, the researchers used computers to simulate what would happen to a “virtual” group of 40-year-old primary care patients.

How was the study done?

The researchers used information from studies of actual patients to estimate what might happen if patients were not screened for depression at all, or if they were screened only one time, once every year, once every 3 years, or once every 5 years during primary care visits. They assumed that screening would involve having patients complete a written survey and that the doctor would ask patients questions about depression on the basis of their answers to the survey questions. Using a computer model, the researchers explored what would happen to patients over time, depending on whether they were screened for depression. They then calculated how much each strategy would cost for a given amount of benefit. The benefit was measured in units known as quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). This considers not only how long a person lives but also the quality of life during that time.

What did the researchers find?

Compared with no screening, screening primary care patients for depression one time would cost society $32,053 per QALY, screening once yearly would cost $192,444 per QALY, screening once every 3 years would cost $81,686 per QALY, and screening every 5 years would cost $50,988 per QALY. The cost-effectiveness of screening will improve if screening becomes less expensive and treatment of depression becomes more effective.

What were the limitations of the study?

This study was a computer simulation, so we cannot be sure what the results would be in actual patients.

What are the implications of the study?

Screening for depression more frequently than once every 5 years is more costly than most of the health care interventions that our society currently considers cost-effective.

Figures

Tables

References

Letters

NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).
Compression-Only CPR: Pushing the Science Forward
Cone
AAM 2010;304:1493-1495.
All you need to read in the other general jounals
BMJ 2010;341:c5893-c1494.

Comments

Submit a Comment
Submit a Comment

Summary for Patients

Clinical Slide Sets

Terms of Use

The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP. The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities. Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.

Toolkit

Buy This Article

to gain full access to the content and tools.

Want to Subscribe?

Learn more about subscription options

Register Now for a free account
Advertisement

Related Content

Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.

In the Clinic
Depression
Ann Intern Med. 2010;152(9):ITC5-1.
Depression
Ann Intern Med. 2007;146(9):ITC5-1.
Topic Collections
PubMed Articles
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of antidepressants in primary care: a multiple treatment comparison meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness model.
PloS one Issue date: 2012
Tavistock Adult Depression Study (TADS): a randomised controlled trial of psychoanalytic psychotherapy for treatment-resistant/treatment-refractory forms of depression.
BMC psychiatry Issue date: 2012 Jun 11

Annals of Internal Medicine

Other Resources

Copyright © 2013 The American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.
Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Buy This Article

to gain full access to the content and tools.

Want to Subscribe?

Learn more about subscription options

Register Now for a free account
Forgot your password?
Enter your username and email address. We'll send you a reminder to the email address on record.
(Required)
(Required)