Physician alerts to increase antidepressant adherence: fax or fiction?

Background: Many managed care organizations use feedback based on electronically maintained claims data to alert physicians to potential treatment problems, including patient medication nonadherence. However, the efficacy of such interventions for improving adherence among patients treated for depression is unknown.

Methods: We examined an antidepressant compliance program consisting of faxed alerts to physicians beginning May 2003 using interrupted time series analysis to evaluate its impact on rates of antidepressant adherence between May 2002 and May 2004 among members of the managed care plan of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, which is a health plan operating in 3 states in New England, with corporate headquarters in Wellesley, Mass.