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Researchers Brief Capitol Hill on Improving Care for Depression

On June 22, 2004, Ken Wells, Michael Schoenbaum, and Jeanne Miranda presented "The Societal Promise of Improving Care for Depression" to a large and diverse Capitol Hill audience. Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) cosponsored the briefing.

After an introduction by Michael Rich, Senator Lieberman spoke briefly on the importance of eliminating disparities in the outcomes of health care and announced his new legislative proposal to reduce these disparities by improving the measurements for disparities and quality, establishing quantifiable standards of treatment for all patients, and providing financial incentives for meeting these standards.

Left to right: Ken Wells, Jeanne Miranda, and Michael Schoenbaum

Following the senator, Wells, Schoenbaum, and Miranda briefed the audience on findings from the "Partners in Care" program, which was designed to improve the quality of depression care in primary care medical practices. Miranda also presented related findings from another program called "We Care," which provides depression treatment to poor racial or ethnic minority women.

Major findings of the "Partners in Care" study include the following:

The quality-improvement program significantly increased the rate of appropriate care for depression.

Patients' health status was also improved through the program, and the amount of time patients were employed increased.

While both whites and racial/ethnic minorities benefited from the quality-improvement program, benefits were particularly large and long-lasting for minority patients.

The main theme of the briefing was that programs to improve care for depression improve quality of care and outcomes for all, while reducing disparities in outcomes of care between minority and white patients. The researchers concluded by relating this recurring high-profile issue to actions that can be taken by policymakers, including appropriate reforms to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

Read Research Brief: "The Societal Promise of Improving Care for Depression"