Provider Connection
Winter 2016
Happy New Years!!
Billing
Reminders:



Use the CIF
(Client
Information
Form) for
billing. Billing
submitted on
HCFA’s or
organizational
invoices will
not be
accepted.
CIF Invoices
with dates of
service over 90
days old will
not be paid.
An incomplete
Client
Information
Form will be
returned for
completion
before
payment can
be made.
Depression In The Workplace
Clinical depression has become one of America's most costly illnesses. Left untreated, depression
is as costly as heart disease or AIDS to the US economy, costing over $51 billion in absenteeism
from work and lost productivity and $26 billion in direct treatment costs. Depression tends to affect
people in their prime working years and may last a lifetime if untreated. More than 80 percent of
people with clinical depression can be successfully treated. With early recognition, intervention, and
support, most employees can overcome clinical depression and pick up where they left off.
Know The Facts

Depression ranks among the top three workplace problems for employee assistance
professionals, following only family crisis and stress.

3% of total short term disability days are due to depressive disorders and in 76% of those
cases, the employee was female.

In a study of First Chicago Corporations, depressive disorders accounted for more than half
of all medical plan dollars paid for mental health problems. The amount for treatment of these
claims was close to the amount spent on treatment for heart disease.

The annual economic cost of depression in 1995 was $600 per depressed worker. Nearly
one-third of these costs are for treatment and 72% are costs related to absenteeism and lost
productivity at work.

Almost 15% of those suffering from severe depression will die by suicide.
Online 2015: mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/depression-workplace
What is the PHQ-9?
License and
Liability
Is your liability up to
date?
The PHQ-9 is the nine item depression scale of the Patient Health Questionnaire*. It can be a
powerful tool to assist clinicians with diagnosing depression and monitoring treatment response.
The nine items of the PHQ-9 are based directly on the nine diagnostic criteria for major depressive
disorder in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fourth Edition). This can help track a
patients overall depression severity as well as the specific symptoms that are improving or not with
treatment.
What is the PHQ-2?
Some clinicians and organizations use the first two items of the PHQ-9 as an initial depression
Provider Connection
Winter 2016
Please make sure we
screening. If the patient responds affirmatively to either of these two items, the remaining 7 items
have your updated
are asked. This can be an efficient way to screen large groups of patients to improve detection of
information.
undiagnosed depression.
 Alternatives
Li, MM, Friedman, B, Conwell, Y, Fiscella, K. Validity of the Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PGQ-2) in Identifying Major
will send a
Depression in Older People. Journal of the American Geriatric Society. 2007; 55:596-602
reminder that
your license or
liability is
Alternatives to the PHQ-9
coming due
approximately
Several depression screening
3-4 weeks
instruments have been developed and
before it is set
validated for use in primary care and
to expire.
other settings. Instruments vary by
 If the updated
whether they are self- or interviewerinformation is
reported and applicable to patients with
not received by
cognitive or language barriers.
expiration date,
The Geriatric Depression
we will contact
Scale
you by phone.
This self-report instrument has been
 If we still have
studied in multiple settings. There is a
not received
five-item version and a 15-item version
the requested
of this measure. (The 15-item measure
information
has excellent psychometric properties
Alternatives
when compared to a structured
will deactivate
diagnostic instrument in a sample of
provider panel
functionally impaired, cognitively intact,
status.
community-dwelling primary care
 Please fax
patients.)
updated
information to:
The Center for Epidemiologic
816.472.9016
Studies Depression Scale
This is one of the most common
instruments applied in community
studies and also used in primary care
settings.

Alternatives
will be moving
to CAQH in
2016.
Appointments

Please return
member calls
Cornell Scale for Depression
in Dementia
This incorporates both observer and
informant based information and is
helpful in evaluating cognitively
impaired patients for depression.
Advantages of the PHQ-9
Provider Connection

within 24
hours.
We ask that
you have
appointment
availability
within 3-7
business days.
Winter 2016
This tool:






Is shorter than other depression rating scales,
Can be administered in person, by telephone, or self-administered,
Facilitates diagnosis of major depression,
Provides assessment of symptom severity,
Has proven effective in a geriatric population, (Löewe B,et al, 2004 Medical Care)
Is well validated and documented in a variety of populations
Scoring
Research has shown that certain scores on the PHQ-9 are strongly correlated with a subsequent
major depression diagnosis. However, not everyone with an elevated PHQ-9 is certain to have
major depression. The PHQ-9 is intended as a tool to assist clinicians with identifying and
diagnosing depression but is not a substitute for diagnosis by a trained clinician.
Online 2015: impact–uw.org, IMPACT evidence based depression care. Aims Center, University of Washington Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences
No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute is required. For a copy of the phq9, go to
http://www.agencymeddirectors.wa.gov/Files/depressionform.pdf