Referral Bias and Other Perspectives on the HEDIS Measuring Stick for Quality of Care in Depression Treatment

Assessing Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing in the Elderly Veterans Affairs Population Using the HEDIS 2006 Quality Measure

“…3,12,14 Because they were derived from expert consensus, some argue that they are not strictly evidencebased. 15 Clinicians contend that these criteria are too broad because some Beers-criteria drugs may be appropriate for specific patients in certain circumstances. Moreover, findings from extant outcomes studies have not consistently linked PIPE, as defined by a dichotomous measure based on the Beers criteria, to negative patient outcomes.…”

HEDIS Antidepressant Measures Biased by 2013 Revision

“…6,7 For example, while in 2013 the AMM criteria were revised to exclude patients with a negative diagnosis history, the requirement that patients have a 90-day negative medication history for antidepressants was retained. 2 Our observations suggest that this approach may inadvertently produce a selection bias.…”

Chasing Quality - Clinical Practice Guidelines and HEDIS Measures of Asthma and Depression Therapy Management

“…As Crownover observes in an accompanying editorial, where is the evidence to support these alleged measures of quality of care in the treatment of depression? 23 Is it even advisable to continue pharmacotherapy for longer than necessary to relieve symptoms of depression, particularly in persons aged 60 years or older when long-term efficacy has been demonstrated only for nortriptyline and citalopram, 24 all antidepressants carry a black-box warning in labeling regarding the increased risk of suicidality in children and adolescents, 25 and there is evidence of increased risk of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding with the SSRIs? Van Walraven et al found that the use of SSRIs increased the risk of bleeding by 10.7% for octogenarians and 9.8% for those with a history of GI bleeding.…”