Patient-Reported Outcomes — Mental Health

Patient-reported outcomes generate important information to help clinicians better deliver mental health treatment. They also enable patients to more actively participate in their own care.

PBGH has been selected to receive an PCORI Engagement Award, which will support our efforts to convene leading plans, providers and stakeholders with demonstrated success in implementing PHQ-9 screening and use of depression screening and remission measures for patient engagement, quality improvement and care redesign. By bringing together plans, purchasers, providers, consumers and policy makers, the project team will identify best practices and key research questions that address administrative challenges, perceived patient/provider burden and build consensus methods.

“Path Forward: Outcomes-based Mental Health Care” is part of a portfolio of projects that PCORI has funded to help develop a community of patients and other stakeholders equipped to participate as partners in comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER). In addressing myriad infrastructure issues and engaging stakeholders on outcomes reporting and using data for comparative effectiveness research, the team hopes to reinforce the value of integrating purchaser and consumer perspectives, and ultimately improve outcomes for depression and apply lessons to improving other behavioral health outcomes.

Separately, PBGH is collaborating with IHA to implement a depression screening measure across 20 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The initiative is designed to demonstrate the benefits of integrating behavioral health and primary care. PBGH also is pursuing a similar project in Massachusetts in collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts.