Improving Identification and Treatment Outcomes of Treatment-Resistant Depression Through Measurement-Based Care

Measurement-based care (MBC), the use of formal symptom measurements to guide care, has long been used in medicine (i.e., blood sugar for diabetes, or cholesterol for heart disease). However, MBC has not been widely adopted in psychiatry. This review summarizes the available evidence and shows that utilizing MBC to guide clinical decision-making results in better treatment outcomes in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Self-report scales are easily implemented, allowing healthcare providers without extensive psychiatric training, such as primary care physicians, to use valid, reliable, and easy-to-access measurement tools. The use of MBC to implement depression screening, particularly within primary care, likely leads to earlier detection, better treatment adherence, minimization of side effects, and quicker remission.