Performance in Practice: Sample Tools for the Care of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

To facilitate continued clinical competence, the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology are implementing multi-faceted Maintenance of Certification programs, which include requirements for self-assessments of practice. Because psychiatrists may want to gain experience with self-assessment, two sample performance-in-practice tools are presented that are based on recommendations of the American Psychiatric Association's Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder. One of these sample tools provides a traditional chart review approach to assessing care; the other sample tool presents a novel approach to real-time evaluation of practice. Both tools can be used as a foundation for subsequent performance improvement initiatives that are aimed at enhancing outcomes for patients with major depressive disorder.