BioCentury
ARTICLE | Politics & Policy

MEDCAC weighs in on treatment-resistant depression

April 28, 2016 1:12 AM UTC

CMS's Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee agreed there was a standard definition of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and outlined criteria that should be included in clinical trials of interventions for the disease.

On a scale of 1-5 with 1 low and 5 high confidence, the 13-member panel recorded an average vote of 3.8 that there was a standard definition of TRD that could be applied in clinical research of Medicare patients. While the panel was not asked to specifically define the number of treatments necessary for a patient to be considered treatment-resistant, most all agreed that it should include patients who had tried and failed to achieve remission after two therapies and/or other non-pharmacological interventions, including psychotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy. ...