Patient outcomes with education, drug therapy, and support: a study of venlafaxine ER-treated outpatients with major depressive disorder.

OBJECTIVE

Dialogues Time to Talk (Dialogues) is a care management program that provides additional follow-up care and patient education for outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) starting venlafaxine extended release (ER) therapy. This study examined the effect of the Dialogues program on patient treatment satisfaction.

METHODS

In this 6-month, open-label study, primary care patients with MDD received usual care and were randomly assigned to venlafaxine ER (75 to 225 mg/d) either alone or in combination with the Dialogues program (venlafaxine ER + D). The primary outcome was patient treatment satisfaction on day 112, measured by the 10- point Satisfaction with Depression Care Scale (SDCS). Secondary efficacy outcomes included the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D17) total score, response (≥50% decrease from baseline HAM-D17 score), and remission (HAM-D17 ≤ 7).

RESULTS

The modified intent-to-treat population included 263 patients in the venlafaxine ER group and 257 in the venlafaxine ER+D group. The percentage of patients with an SDCS "very satisfied" score (≥8) at day 112 was not significantly different in the venlafaxine ER and venlafaxine ER+D groups (63% and 58%, respectively; P = 0.22). No significant differences were found on any secondary outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Among primary care patients starting venlafaxine ER for MDD, participation in the Dialogues program did not have a statistically significant effect on patient treatment satisfaction.