Patient Outcomes Reporting for Timely Assessments of Life With Depression: PORTAL-Depression

Patient Outcomes Reporting for Timely Assessments of Life With Depression: PORTAL-Depression

Currently, very little research exists on whether patient portals could be used to integrate patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement into the electronic health record (EHR) and clinical practice, even though 87% of ambulatory care practices have EHRs and 88% of U.S. adults have access to the internet. To date, no randomized controlled trial has examined whether patient portals can be used to collect PRO measures. The goal of this study is to implement the integration of a computerized adaptive test (CAT) for patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement of depression symptoms into an electronic health record (EHR) and evaluate the effectiveness of collecting CAT PROs via an EHR patient portal in two randomized controlled trials. This study will advance the science of implementation of patient-centered outcomes research into clinical practice, as well as the evidence for high quality, accessible care.

The overall goal of this proposal is to implement the integration of the Computerized Adaptive Test for Mental Health (CAT-MH) into an EHR for a healthcare system and evaluate the effectiveness of collecting CAT-MH PROs via an EHR-tethered patient portal (MyChart) vs. usual care in two randomized controlled trials. The first aim of this study will consist of a randomized controlled trial comparing screening rates among adult primary care patients with an active patient portal account (MyChart) and due for depression screening who receive usual care (CAT-MH screenings during routine clinic visits) vs. MyChart population-based CAT-MH screenings. The second aim of this study involves a randomized controlled trial comparing depression remission rates among patients with active moderate-to-severe MDD who receive usual care vs. MyChart CAT-MH measurement-based care. In addition, we will examine the resources needed to integrate the CAT-MH into the EHR and design the health IT strategy for collecting PROs via the patient portal.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older
• considered an active clinic patient at the start date of the intervention
• have an active MyChart account that is not managed by a proxy
• receive care from a participating PCP
• due for depression screening (screening arms) or active depression (monitoring arms)

Exclusion Criteria:

• under 18 years of age
• bipolar disorder