Depression Management System for Cardiac Patients

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the western world. Depression is very often undetected by cardiologists and, when detected, it often goes untreated. The proposed Outcomes Management System for Depressed Cardiac Patients (OMSDCP) will assist cardiologists by screening for depression, helping to determine the most promising treatment alternative for depressed patients (Treatment Selection), and monitoring patients' progress in relation to a predicted course (Treatment Management). All aspects of OMSDCP will be fully automated to minimize administrative/respondent burden, maximize clinical utility and provide easy integration into routine clinical practice. Key Phase II objectives are to (1) revise the questionnaire, reducing its length based upon Phase I results; (2) enhance software to provide administrative functions for use by office staff, administer the questionnaire, and produce screening and monitoring reports; (3) develop model guidelines for the use of reports by physicians; (4) develop ETR curves; (5) conduct a study to evaluate the psychological and medical impacts of OMSDCP; and (6) develop training materials.