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Quality of Care Measures for Care Given by the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences

In the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, the goal of treatment is to help individuals with psychiatric and co-occurring disorders return to healthy and productive lives.

In psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience measuring outcomes -- the effectiveness of treatment -- is complex and challenging.

At Cedars-Sinai, physicians in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences use many tools to better evaluate treatment needs and patient's perceptions of the effectiveness of treatment. Two of these are:

  • The Q-LES-Q Quality of Life Enjoyment Satisfaction Questionnaire. This is used at the beginning of treatment and at the end of treatment for all patients.

  • The Sheehan Disability Scale. Using this scale, patients report their perceptions of the degree to which their condition has caused impairment.

These two measures, along with a structured assessment, provide physicians, clinicians and other members of the treatment team with better tools to assess a patient's progress and reductions in his or her symptoms.

Patient Responses to the Q-LES-Q Quality of Life Enjopyment Satisfaction Questionnaire

The chart below shows the results of the Quality of Life Enjoyment Satisfaction Questionnaire given to patients in 2008. The patients received six categories of care:

  • Inpatient care
  • Electroconvulsive therapy
  • Partial hospitalization
  • Adult intensive outpatient care
  • Adult outpatient programs
  • Geriatric intensive outpatient care

The graph below compares patients' pre-treatment questionnaire results with their post-treatment results and shows the percentage of difference between the two.

A higher post-treatment score is better than a lower post-treatment score.

Patient Responses to the Sheehan Disability Scale

Patients at the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences were also asked to report their perceptions of how much their condition had impaired them. These perceptions were reported using the Sheehan Disability Scale.

Patients in the same six categories of care as for the Q-LES-Q survey were given the Sheehan Disability Scale assessment.

The graph below shows initial scores on the Sheehan Disability Scale, post-treatment scores and the number of points of change between them.

A lower post-treatment score is better than a higher one.