ICSI Wins American Psychiatric Association Gold Award for Its DIAMOND Program for Treating Depression

BLOOMINGTON, Minn., Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has selected the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement's (ICSI, www.icsi.org) DIAMOND program as the winner of its 2010 Gold Award for community-based program. DIAMOND (Depression Improvement Across Minnesota, Offering a New Direction) was recognized for its innovative way of delivering services to the mentally ill or disabled, for overcoming obstacles in implementation, and for serving as a model for other programs.

"We are very pleased that the outcomes for patients with depression have improved greatly through the DIAMOND initiative," said Brian Rank, MD, Medical Director, HealthPartners Medical Group, and Board Chair, ICSI. "This award recognizes the collaborative spirit within Minnesota's health care community, and specifically the partnership between health plans, providers and patients.  It is truly a great honor that this work has been recognized by the APA."

This is the first time in the award's 51-year history that a Minnesota organization has been recognized. In citing reasons for its selection, the APA said, "The success of the DIAMOND program brought the plight of depressed patients (the suffering, impact on other medical problems, costs to employers and health plans, the dismal state of usual care results) out of the relative obscurity of the behavioral health world into a prominent and prioritized position such that employers, health plans, the Minnesota Department of Health, and Minnesota Department of Human Services all support the need for better care and outcomes. This is a program that does it. It engages psychiatry as a major player to make this happen."

Medical groups, health plans, employers, patients and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, under the auspices of ICSI, collaborated to develop the DIAMOND program. Currently offered through 80 primary care clinics, it is the first depression treatment program in the nation to integrate a team-based care model with a reimbursement structure that enables primary care clinics to provide enhanced care support to patients with depression. At least five times as many patients in the DIAMOND program are in remission by six months compared to clinics offering typical primary care treatment.

Elements of the DIAMOND program, based on the IMPACT model created by Dr. Jurgen Unutzer, University of Washington, include: use of a standard assessment tool to improve the diagnosis and management of depression; the addition of a care manager and consulting psychiatrist to the patient's primary care treatment team; an evidence-based stepped-care approach to treatment; a tracking system to monitor follow-up care and treatment effectiveness; and tools to prevent the patient from relapsing back into depression. This extra bundle of care means the patient with depression is more frequently contacted, educated, encouraged and supported.

Other factors leading to the APA's selection of the DIAMOND program included:

• It was founded on an evidence-based model of care
• It garnered payment support by all major state health plans unlike any other payment program for depression in the U.S.
• It improved the involvement of psychiatry in primary care in a way not previously organized in Minnesota. It leverages psychiatric expertise to help many more patients.
• It achieved a critical mass of health care involvement: 80 primary care clinics, all major health plans in the state, the Buyer's Health Care Action Group representing employers, Minnesota Department of Health, MN Community Measurement, and a growing list of behavioral health clinics involved in a statewide depression collaborative of which the Minnesota Psychiatric Society representatives serve on the planning committee.
• The DIAMOND model has proven transferrable and successful across an entire spectrum of clinics—large and small, urban and rural.
• One year after program activation, 50% of patients re-measured are in remission and another 17% have had at least a 50% reduction in the severity of their depression.

The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (www.icsi.org) is a non-profit health care improvement organization that brings diverse stakeholders together to find solutions to complex health care problems. Sponsored by six health plans in Minnesota and Wisconsin, ICSI helps its 60 medical group and hospital members deliver higher quality and lower cost health care.

SOURCE Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement