[DOES SCREENING FOR DEPRESSION AS A QUALITY MEASUREMENT IMPACT DIAGNOSIS RATE OF DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING...

Area of Science:

• Geriatric Medicine
• Neurology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Post-stroke depression is a significant concern in elderly rehabilitation.
• The Israeli National Program for Quality Measures aimed to improve diagnosis and treatment.
• Cultural differences in depression presentation necessitated separate analysis for Jewish and Arab populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of implementing a depression screening quality measure on diagnosis rates.
• To assess the effectiveness of the PHQ-2 questionnaire in identifying post-stroke depression.
• To analyze changes in depression diagnosis rates among elderly stroke patients before and after the quality measure implementation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 879 elderly stroke patients' medical records (2015-2019).
• Implementation of a depression screening quality measure in 2016 using the PHQ-2 questionnaire.
• Comparison of depression diagnosis rates pre- and post-measure implementation, with separate analysis for ethnic groups.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in post-stroke depression diagnosis rates was observed after the quality measure was introduced.
• The PHQ-2 questionnaire results correlated with clinical depression diagnoses.
• Screening did not alter the diagnosis rate in either the Jewish or Arab elderly populations.

Conclusions:

• Depression screening via PHQ-2 did not enhance the diagnosis rate of post-stroke depression in geriatric rehabilitation units.
• The implemented quality measure provided no added diagnostic value.
• The study highlights the need to assess the added value of quality measures to optimize resource allocation and prevent staff burnout.