Telephone Depression Program Offers Benefits At A Moderate Cost

ScienceDaily (Oct. 5, 2009) — Patients who participate in a structured telephone program to manage their depression appear to experience significant benefits and only a moderate increase in health care costs when compared with those who receive usual care, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Organized treatment programs for depression in primary care have been proven effective across a wide range of patient populations and health care systems, according to background information in the article. "Broad implementation of improved depression care programs will depend on the balance of benefits and added costs," the authors write. "Depression has large economic effects outside the health care system, including disability, lost work productivity, reduced educational attainment and relationship disruption. Ideally, decisions about the value of depression care programs should consider these broader economic effects."

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