“Should I have my patient complete this scale?”: Screenings and Measurement-based Care in Clinical Practice-View Presentation

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The presentation at the APA conference, led by Dr. Bob Boland and his colleagues, focused on the impact and methodologies of measurement-based care in psychiatry. Dr. Boland, from the Menninger Clinic, along with Dr. Marcel Sanchez and Dr. Vikas Gupta, explored the use of screening tools and rating scales in psychiatric practice. These instruments help in the initial patient assessments, aiding diagnosis but sometimes presenting challenges, like false positives. The speakers highlighted the historical context of psychiatric screening, citing its evolution since the 1940s. They discussed the ideal features of screening tools: brevity, ease of scoring, validity, and accessibility, emphasizing their importance regardless of their limitations. Dr. Sanchez pointed out the subjective nature of psychopathology, necessitating a robust framework for diagnosis amidst high patient volumes and time constraints.<br /><br />A key segment was devoted to the practical aspects of implementing screenings in clinical settings. Dr. Boland noted the barriers to widespread adoption of measurement-based care, such as resource constraints and a traditional reluctance in the field. Yet, they emphasized the benefits for clinical practice, research, and quality reporting. The Menninger Clinic's approach to measurement-based care involves using multiple scales at various patient care stages to gather comprehensive data. Although expensive and requiring considerable effort, these methodologies improve patient care quality by incorporating objective data alongside clinical judgment.<br /><br />Dr. Gupta discussed the specific applications of rating scales in child psychiatry, underlining their importance for early diagnosis and treatment planning. He acknowledged potential challenges, such as cultural biases and children's varying degrees of comprehension and expression affecting the scales' accuracy. Overall, the session promoted an integrated approach to psychiatric assessment, combining subjective clinical insights with objective data from standardized tools.

Keywords

APA conference

Dr. Bob Boland

measurement-based care

psychiatry

screening tools

rating scales

patient assessments

Menninger Clinic

psychiatric practice

diagnosis

clinical settings

child psychiatry

integrated approach