Development of the National Network of Depression Centers Mood Outcomes Program: A Multisite Platform for Measurement-Based Care

Mood disorders are among the most burdensome public health concerns. The National Network of Depression Centers (NNDC) is a nonprofit consortium of 26 leading clinical and academic member centers in the United States providing care for patients with mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. The NNDC has established a measurement-based care program called the Mood Outcomes Program whereby participating sites follow a standard protocol to electronically collect patient-reported outcome assessments on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in routine clinical care. This article describes the approaches taken to develop and implement the program.Since 2015, eight pilot sites have implemented the program and followed more than 10,000 patients. This pilot study presents descriptive statistics based on the first 24-month period of data collection.In this sample, 58.6% of patients with bipolar disorder (N=849) and 57.5% of patients with unipolar depression (N=3,998) remained symptomatic at follow-up. Lifetime rates of planned or actual suicide attempts were high, ranging from 27.6% for patients with unipolar mood disorders to 33.5% for patients with bipolar disorder. Men, unmarried individuals, and those with comorbid anxiety had a poorer longitudinal course. This initial snapshot of clinical burden is consistent with public health data indicating that mood disorders are severely debilitating.This study demonstrates the potential of the Mood Outcomes Program to create a nationwide "learning health system" for mood disorders. This goal will be further realized as the program expands in reach and scope across additional NNDC sites.