News
POLARIS HEALTH DIRECTIONS AWARDED GRANT TO STUDY DEPRESSION
AND ANXIETY IN PATIENTS RECEIVING CARDIOVASCULAR TREATMENT
Langhorne, PA, August 25, 2003
Polaris Health Directions is pleased to announce it has been
awarded a three-year grant from the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) to study depression and anxiety in patients receiving
cardiovascular treatment.
Depression and anxiety directly affect clinical outcomes in
cardiac patients but both conditions are often undiagnosed
and untreated. The study will examine the impact of depression,
anxiety and other psychosocial factors on cardiac outcomes,
including myocardial infarction and hospitalizations.
During the three-year study, Polaris will collect data from
1,000 patients from five treatment programs nationwide. Each
patient will complete at least six assessments throughout
the course of treatment using Polaris’s proprietary
software, Polaris-CV.
Polaris-CV allows physicians to detect depression and anxiety
and allows treatment professionals to monitor the patient's
condition and manage individual outcomes. The system produces
real-time reports to support clinical decision-making and
aggregates data for use in setting best practice guidelines,
managing clinical outcomes and staff training.
The grant allows Polaris Health Directions to build on the
successes of the initial phase of the study. Data from the
initial project were presented in conjunction with the San
Francisco Heart Institute at the 2002 American College of
Cardiology conference. Over 40% of the patients tested in
the initial phase of the study screened positive for depression,
based on the screening method recommended by the U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force. The study confirmed the reliability and
validity of the scales for depression and anxiety.
Polaris Health Directions was founded by leaders in the field
of clinical decision support and outcomes management. The
expertise of its founders and staff has led to the development
of comprehensive systems that support clinical care for a
wide range of treatment populations. The system’s capabilities
include automated data acquisition, data analysis, outcomes
management, and real-time reporting.
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For more information contact:
Ed Edghill
Polaris Health Directions
(215) 741-4959 x27
edghill@polarishealth.com
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