Disease - Mental Illness
Agitation and Depression in Frail Nursing Home Elderly Patients with Dementia: Treatment Characteristics and Service Use, by Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS, et al., American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Vol. 11, No. 2, March-April 2003
Agitation and depression are the two most common behavioral complications of dementia. Although the behavioral symptoms have received less attention than the cognitive symptoms of dementia, they have serious consequences, including caregiver stress, premature institutionalization, and compromised quality of life for patients and their families. This study suggests that dementia complicated by mixed agitation and depression is among the most clinically challenging problems in long-term care, and that effective interventions and services are needed to address the complex treatment needs of this high-risk group.
A Closer Look at Depression, 2002
Clinical depression is a widespread and debilitating illness that cost Americans $44 billion in 1990, making it one of the nation's ten most costly diseases. In this six-page brochure, a collaboration between the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and NPC, we take a closer look at the factors that influence
drug spending for treating depression.
Cost-Effective Opportunities for Improving Depression-Related Outcomes, by Sean Sullivan, Health & Productivity Management, Vol. 2, No.3
Depression has a clear impact on productivity. Depressed patients, particularly those not in treatment, are high-cost users of health care, consuming two to four times more resources than other patients. A May 2002 survey by the Institute for Health and Productivity Management found that mental health conditions primarily depression ranked second as a cause of employee absences and first as a cause of presenteeism among large American companies. The use of appropriate treatments can reduce indirect employer costs including lost productivity in the workplace.
Disease Management for Depression, 2003
This monograph provides an introduction to disease management along with an analysis of penetration, trends and growth. Disease management strategies have great potential to improve therapeutic outcomes for patients with depression. Although there can be some challenges in managing depression through a disease management program, many programs have had success. While not every program included in the literature search represents a comprehensive disease management program, examples of specific educational interventions for depression are included and discussed.
Disease Management for Schizophrenia, 2004
Disease management efforts for schizophrenia are less well established than are efforts for other chronic illnesses such as asthma and diabetes. Managing schizophrenia poses more of a challenge than many other chronic diseases because it usually causes greater disability than other mental and physical illnesses. However, disease management strategies have the potential to improve therapeutic outcomes for patients with schizophrenia. This monograph provides an introduction to disease management as well as examples of interventions for schizophrenia.
Formulary Restriction of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors for Depression: Potential Pitfalls, by Paula L. Hensley and H. George Nurnberg, PharmacoEconomics, Vol. 19, No. 10, 2001
Psychotropic drugs and their associated costs can be a limiting factor in mental health treatment coverage. As a result, restrictive formularies are a common method of attempting to limit costs. This paper explores the intended and unintended consequences of having a single or exclusive selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) on a formulary and concludes that the practice of having a single SSRI on the formulary for a health care plan seems ill founded. Giving the primary care physician several antidepressant choices can provide more options to continue treatment of his or her patient in the less expensive
primary care setting. In terms of cost containment, formulary restrictions are far more likely to have the opposite effect.
The Health and Productivity Cost Burden of the Top 10 Physical and Mental Health Conditions Affecting Six Large U.S. Employers, by Ron Z. Goetzel, et al., Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 45, No.1, January 2003
This article identifies the top 10 most costly physical and mental health conditions faced by six large employers in their health benefits programs. The research identifies costs associated with each condition including direct medical costs and the indirect costs associated with days absent from the job and short-term disability costs.
Health Care & Productivity, 2000
This newsletter, designed for employers, details how newer drug therapies have direct and profound effects on productivity and the bottom lines of employers who select and provide health benefits.
MedAccess Online Bibliography on Atypical Antipsychotics
This bibliography, developed by Dr. William M. Glazer, President of Glazer Medical Solutions and Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, presents studies demonstrating the value of the atypical antipsychotic medications clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, and resperidone.
Pharmaceuticals and Productivity: Investing in Human Capital, 2001
(Note: ~20mb)
New therapies have the potential to produce economic savings and benefits both outside of the health care system (indirect savings) and within the system (direct savings). This report explores the question of whether spending on pharmaceuticals has a positive payoff.
Productivity Impact Model: Calculating the Impact of Depression in the Workplace and the Benefits of Treatment
Depression is a leading cause of absenteeism and low productivity in the workforce. It affects almost every company to some degree, and its costs are high. The Productivity Impact Model can help employers determine the incidence of depression an organization, predict the expected number of days each year employees will be absent or suffer low productivity due to depression, estimate the costs associated with this lost productivity, and project the net savings that will accrue with treatment of employees suffering from depression.
The Silver Book: Chronic Disease and Medical Innovation in an Aging Nation
The Silver Book, a project of the Alliance for Aging Research is an almanac of hundreds of facts, statistics, graphs, and information from close to 100 agencies, organizations and experts. It is a searchable database that is constantly updated and expanded in order to highlight the latest research and data on the burden of chronic disease and the value of investing in medical research. The Silver Book database is searchable by specific terms or by sections. The database is also interactive, allowing users to submit data from additional studies and reports.
Treatment of Depression in Older Primary Care Patients in Health Maintenance Organizations, by Stephen J. Bartels, PhD, et al., Psychiatry in Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 3, 1997
Older patients enrolled in managed care plans are being prescribed older anti-depressants, indicating that this issue is an important target for improving quality of care for depression in the elderly. Authors of this 1997 journal article found that the elderly who were prescribed anti-depressants received older varieties that have more side effects.
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