Depression Screening in Rural Primary Care
Presentation
Overview
Overview
Description
Background Approximately 16.2 million Americans and 4.2 million Canadians are diagnosed each year with depression. Primary care providers are most commonly diagnosing depression. Depression screening guidelines from the United States Preventive Services Task Force and the American Academy of Family Physicians are recommended for all adults in primary care. The Canadian Task Force on Preventative Healthcare does not recommend routine screening, but recommends screening for adults at risk or exhibiting symptoms of depression. Both the literature and an informal needs assessment confirmed a low rate of depression screening in rural primary care. Purpose The purpose of this project was to improve depression screening rates in rural primary care by equipping healthcare providers with tools to diagnose depression in the primary care setting. Approach A quality improvement project was conducted in three federally-qualified health centers in rural North Carolina by implementing a depression screening protocol. Pre-implementation data for depression screening in the clinics revealed a screening rate of 0-1.4% in this organization over the previous three years. Following the implementation of a three-month quality improvement project, depression screening rates improved to an overall rate of 14%, with one clinic reaching a 60% screening rate. Conclusion Equipping providers and staff with the necessary tools and workflow process allowed for improvement in overall screening rates, leading to treatment for depression in the rural primary care setting. Collaboration with behavioral health professionals to implement a low-cost depression screening protocol improved screening rates to help meet Healthy People 2020 and Triple Aim goals. Significance A depression screening protocol with treatment options for specific rural areas can be similarly implemented in other regions of the United States and Canada. Successful treatment of depression and prevention of suicide can be remarkably impactful in improving health outcomes for rural health patients in both the United States and Canada.
