HEDIS® Antidepressant Medication Management Measure

The goal of the HEDIS Antidepressant Measure is to assess different facets of the successful pharmacological management of new onset depression episodes. There are two areas which are measured: the Effective Acute Phase Treatment and the Effective Continuation Phase Treatment.

The eligible population for this measure includes Medicaid members who are 18 years and older as of the 120th day of the measurement year.  Members must be continuously enrolled for the 12-month period encompassing the new episode of medication therapy, with one gap of enrollment (45 days or 1 month) allowed.

A member is considered to have a “new episode” of depression if they have a 4-month (120 day) period of time prior to diagnosis, where they did not have any visits with a diagnosis or secondary diagnosis of depression.  In addition they need to have a 3-month (90) day negative medication history. A negative Medication History is defined as “a period of 3 months (90 days) prior to the Index Prescription Date, during which time the member had no pharmacy claims for either new or refill prescriptions for a listed antidepressant drug”.

The Effective Acute Phase Treatment measure is the percentage of members who were diagnosed with a new episode of depression and treated with antidepressant medication and remained on an antidepressant during the 12 week Acute Treatment Phase out of the total eligible member population. 

The Effective Continuation Phase Treatment is the percentage of eligible members who were diagnosed with a new episode of depression, treated with antidepressant medication and remained on an antidepressant drug for at least 6 months (180 days). This measure does allow for certain gaps in medication refills for washout periods and change in medications.