Individual research recommendation details

Recommendation ID

CG123/4

Question

Routine outcome measurement:- In people with a common mental health disorder, what is the clinical utility of routine outcome measurement and is it cost effective compared with standard care?

Any explanatory notes
(if applicable)

Why is this important?:- Routine outcome measurement is increasingly a part of the delivery of psychological interventions, particularly in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. There is evidence from this programme and from other studies that routine outcome measurement may bring real benefits. However, there is much less evidence for pharmacological interventions on the cost effectiveness of routine outcome measurement. If routine outcome measurement were shown to be cost effective across the range of common mental health disorders it could be associated with improved treatment outcomes, because of its impact on healthcare professionals’ behaviour and the prompter availability of appropriate treatment interventions in light of feedback from the measurement.
This should be tested in a randomised controlled trial in which different frequencies of routine outcome measurement are compared, for example at the beginning and end of treatment, at regular intervals and at every appointment.

Source guidance details

Comes from guidance

Common mental health problems: identification and pathways to care

Number

CG123

Date issued

May 2011

Other details