Medical Center

Two new clinical guidelines recommend screening adults for depression, but only when supports are in place to help physicians ensure accurate diagnosis and provide effective treatment and follow-up. The first guideline was developed by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The second, developed to support the USPSTF statement and aimed at the primary care practice, was prepared by researchers led by Elizabeth A O’Connor, PhD, at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  Both guidelines are published in the December issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The new USPSTF guideline updates a previous statement released in 2002 that recommended screening adults for depression in clinical practices that have systems in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and follow-up. The new recommendation stipulates that staff-assisted depression care supports need to be in place. Such depression care supports could assist with providing direct depression care such as case management.

In its published statement, the USPSTF determined that with such staff-assisted supports in place, there is at least moderate certainty that the net benefit of screening for depression is at least moderate, whereas without these supports, there is at least moderate certainly that the net benefit of screening adults for depression is small.

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