Project ImPACT: Depression

The Participants

The Participants

Employers

This demonstration project was conducted in a community setting in Asheville, NC with two self-insured employers participating: the City of Asheville and Mission Hospitals. Both agreed to offer a care management program for covered health plan members with depression.

Patients

All eligible participants were older than 18 years and employees or covered beneficiaries of Mission Hospitals or the City of Asheville. Participants had an existing diagnosis of depression and had been prescribed antidepressant treatment by their primary care provider. Patients with baseline and year 1 medical and pharmacy claims and two or more documented visits with pharmacists were included in both the clinical and economic subgroup analyses. A total of 159 patients met the inclusion criteria and 130 participated for the duration of the project.

Pharmacists

A community pharmacist and an outpatient hospital pharmacist provided care to the participants. Both pharmacists had previously obtained a doctor of pharmacy degree, had been in practice for a minimum of 3 years, and completed a postdoctoral residency program. One of the pharmacists had completed a 12-month psychiatric residency, and the other had completed a 12-month ambulatory care residency. Immediately before the investigation, the pharmacists received approximately 16 hours of depression management training (8 hours self-study and 8 hours live) provided by the APhA Foundation based on national treatment guidelines. The live training delivered by a multidisciplinary team that included a primary care provider, psychiatrist, behavioral health counselor, and psychiatric pharmacist, consisted of didactic presentations, patient cases, and role playing among participants.

 

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