Recorded quality of care for depression in general practice: an observational study

Depression is a leading cause of disease and disability internationally, and is responsible for many primary care consultations. Little is known about the quality of primary care for depression in the UK.

To determine the prevalence of good-quality primary care for depression, and to analyse variations in quality by patient and practice characteristics.

Retrospective observational study.

Eighteen general practices in England.

Medical records were examined for 279 patients. The percentage of eligible participants diagnosed with depression who received the care specified by each of six quality indicators in 2002 and 2004 was assessed. Associations between quality achievement and age, sex, patient deprivation score, timepoint, and practice size were estimated using logistic regression.

There was very wide variation in achievement of different indicators (range 1-97%). Achievement was higher for indicators referring to treatment and follow-up than for indicators referring to history taking. Achievement of quality indicators was low overall (37%). Quality did not vary significantly by patient or practice characteristics.

There is substantial scope for improvement in the quality of primary care for depression, if the highest achievement rates could be matched for all indicators. Given the lack of variation by practice characteristics, system-level and educational interventions may be the best ways to improve quality. The equitable distribution of quality by patient deprivation score is an important achievement that may be challenging to maintain as quality improves.