Masoumeh Amin-Esmaeili
, Shahab Baheshmat, Afarin Rahimi-Movaghar
* , Seyed Mehdi Samimi Ardestani, Roya samadi, Ahmad Hajebi, Yosef Farzy, Ebrahim Moghimi-Sarani, Shahab Khatibzadeh, Saeid Shahraz
Abstract
Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD), a major cause of the burden of diseases is associated with a considerable rate of inadequate treatment and high cost. Objectives: We assessed the pattern of service use, quality, and costs of healthcare for MDD in Iran. Methods: A national sample of 265 patients in the acute phase of MDD recruited from outpatient/inpatient settings were assessed at baseline and in three follow-up points of one, three, and six months. The pattern of service use and selected quality indicators were assessed, and the costs of an episode of care for MDD were estimated using the bottom-up approach. Findings: The subjects were primarily female (73.6%), with a mean age of 43.3 years (±13.8). Of 173 respondents at the end of the study, 65.3% were on treatment for at least six months. Regarding quality indicators, the majority of the patients (97.7%) were prescribed antidepressants. However, only 71.2% of the patients initiated their antidepressants from the initial visit. At the end of the study, 40.1% were in remission and 58.1% had at least a 50% improvement in depressive symptoms. However, no standardized process or outcome measures were documented on patients’ medical records. The average out-of-pocket and total cost for an episode of MDD per patient was estimated at Int$ 1331.4 and 2107.4. Conclusions: Establishing an infrastructure for monitoring the clinical evaluation and treatment, and proper documentation based on standard quality of care, especially for ambulatory clinical practice, is recommended.