Cost of Treatment-Resistant Depression

There is no clear consensus in the definition of Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD). This lack of standardized definition creates problems not only for patients and diagnosticians but for payers as well. Lawrence J. Cohen, Pharm.D., Professor of Pharmacotherapy, Washington State University discussed research results showing that traditional antidepressant strategies appear to have limited effectiveness for TRD, in addition when evaluating Electric Convulsive Therapy (ECT), a non-pharmacological treatment, it is effective for about 60% for TRD patients, but the relapse rate is 50% at one year. The fact that relapse, recurrence, and treatment resistance are factors associated with significantly greater health care costs leads to devastating consequences for patients, providers and payers. This presentation was at the inaugural meeting of the National Task Force on Consumer Access to Emerging Neurotechnologies