Use of outcome measurements in clinical practice: How specific should one be?

Objective: Progress feedback is often measured with generic instruments that measure common symptoms and generic aspects of functioning. The current study aims to explore the relative usefulness of disorder-specific measures. We hypothesized that disorder-specific instruments reveal more improvement than generic instruments and that the addition of disorder-specific instruments results in better treatment outcomes. Method: We used a cohort of 3419 patients with a depression. As generic measures, we used the BSI or the symptoms distress subscale of the OQ-45. In 946 patients, a specific instrument, the IDS-SR, was added. We compared mean change scores and percentages of clinical significant change. In a matched case control design, we analyzed whether the additional use of the IDS-SR resulted in better treatment outcomes. Results: Mean change scores of both types of instruments were comparable. When comparing clinical significant change, agreement was moderate. We found better outcomes on the generic instruments when both a generic and a disorder-specific instrument were used. Conclusion: In individual treatment of depression, generic and disorder-specific instruments are not interchangeable. The additional use of disorder-specific instruments provides a more complete picture of the patient's progress than the use of a generic instrument alone.