ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2020
The Role of Screening in Depression Diagnosis and Treatment in a Representative Sample of US Primary Care Visits.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Psychotherapy and Antidepressant Use After the US Preventive Services Task Force-Recommended Depression Screening.JAMA health forum · 2026Article
- Evaluation of a Clinic-Level Intervention to Increase Anxiety and Depression Screening in an Urban HIV Clinic.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Patient and Care Team Perspectives of Barriers to and Facilitators for the Implementation of a Digital Health Program for Depression in Primary Care: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Determinants of depression help-seeking intentions in Xizang, China: leveraging the Andersen model for mental health services utilization improvement.International journal for equity in health · 2025Article
- Is Artificial Intelligence the Next Co-Pilot for Primary Care in Diagnosing and Recommending Treatments for Depression?Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Uncovering hidden depression: the critical role of depression screening in sleep disorders at U.S. sleep centers.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Article
- Patient Perspectives on Portal-Based Anxiety and Depression Screening in HIV Care: A Qualitative Study Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Population-Level Portal-Based Anxiety and Depression Screening Perspectives in HIV Care Clinicians: Qualitative Study Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Diagnoses and Treatment After Depression Screening in Primary Care Among Youth.American journal of preventive medicine · 2022Article
- Lay HIV counselors' knowledge and attitudes toward depression: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study at primary healthcare centers in Mozambique.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- A pilot study of participatory and rapid implementation approaches to increase depression screening in primary care.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Association of depression symptom severity with short-term risk of an initial hospital encounter in adults with major depressive disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2021Article
- Comorbid Anxiety and Depression, Though Underdiagnosed, Are Not Associated with High Rates of Low-Value Care in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Annals of the American Thoracic Society · 2021Article
- Accuracy in detecting major depressive episodes in older adults using the Swedish versions of the GDS-15 and PHQ-9.Upsala journal of medical sciences · 2021Article
- From the Editors' Desk: The Importance of Screening for Depression in Primary Care.Journal of general internal medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPrimary care providers encounter a large proportion of the population with depression. Yet, many primary care patients with depression remain undiagnosed and untreated.
objectiveThis study aims to examine depression screening patterns and the role of screening in depression diagnosis and treatment in the outpatient primary care setting.
designThis is a cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative survey data of visits to outpatient physician offices from the 2005 to 2015 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys.
participantsThe sample included the first visit in the past year to a primary care provider by patients 12 years and older (N = 16,887).
methodsThe associations of visit characteristics with depression screening and of depression screening with depression diagnosis and treatment during the visit were assessed using logistic regression. Logistic regression with propensity score weighting was used to estimate the odds of depression diagnosis and treatment under the counterfactual scenario in which patients who visited providers with lower depression screening rates had visited providers with higher screening rates instead. All models were adjusted for patient and visit characteristics. KEY
resultsA small proportion of sample visits involved depression screening (3.0%). Visits by patients with depressive symptom complaints were associated with higher odds of depression screening than other visits. When visits were weighted to have similar demographic and clinical characteristics, visits to providers with higher screening rates had higher odds of diagnosis (OR = 1.99, p < 0.001) and treatment (OR = 1.61, p = 0.001) compared to visits to providers with lower screening rates.
conclusionsPhysicians appear to use depression screening selectively based on patients' presenting symptoms. Higher screening rates were associated with higher odds of depression diagnosis and treatment, and even modest increases in screening rates could meaningfully increase population-level rates of depression identification and treatment in primary care. Future research is needed to identify barriers to depression care and implement systematic interventions to improve services and patient outcomes.
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