Concordance with treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder: data from the systematic treatment enhancement program for bipolar disorder.

Background: Concordance with evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of chronic mental disorders is typically low. The study assesses the degree of concordance to recommendations of published treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder in the Systematic Treatment Enhancement Program for Bipolar Disorder (STEP-BD). Potential demographic and clinical predictors of adherence were examined.

Methods: STEP-BD treating psychiatrists participated in extensive training in evidence-based pharmacological management focusing on published clinical practice guidelines. Recommended medications and dosing for each specific mood episode were extracted from published treatment guidelines and collapsed into a Composite guideline. Prescribed medication information for patients at the first visit in a prospectively observed new-onset mood episode (depressive, mixed, or hypomanic/manic) was then compared with guideline recommendations.

Results: The current study included 964 STEP-BD patients, observed over 2 years, who experienced a prospectively observed episode (n = 716 depressive; n = 182 hypomanic/ manic; n = 66 mixed). Guideline concordant treatments were prescribed in 81.8% of mixed episodes, 81.9% of hypomanic/manic episodes, and 83.4% of depressive episodes, exceeding rates previously reported in randomized controlled trials of guideline implementation. Younger age of onset and receipt of adequate pharmacotherapy at STEP-BD entry predicted those more likely to receive guideline-concordant care.

Conclusions: The use of guideline concordant pharmacological treatments was substantially higher than reported under naturalistic conditions. We speculate that basic provider education plus a collaborative approach to medication choice may have contributed to the high treatment concordance rates in this large national trial. As in other studies, few patient-specific factors were associated with the likelihood of receiving guideline-concordant care.