Effect of Mental Health Care and Shared Decision Making on Patient Satisfaction in a Community Sample of Patients with Depression

This study sought to understand if shared decision making and/or receipt of mental health care was associated with patient satisfaction for patients with depression and to determine whether gender modified this relationship. The data are from the Quality Improvement for Depression study, a national collaborative study of 1,481 patients diagnosed with major depression in managed care settings. The cross-sectional analyses were performed using multiple logistic regression on a sample of 1,317 patients who answered both the baseline and month six questionnaires. Shared decision making and receipt of mental health care were both positively associated with patient satisfaction. Gender was not a moderator of this relationship. Health plans may be able to improve patient satisfaction levels by teaching physicians the importance of shared decision making. Contrary to expectations, patient gender made no difference in the effects of quality of care on patient satisfaction.