OPTIMUM is a research study designed to test which medications work best and are safest for adults age sixty and older with difficult-to-treat depression.
Who is eligible for OPTIMUM
Inclusion -Age 60 or older -Treatment Resistant -Depression, defined by: •Major depression •PHQ-9 = 6 or greater •Two or more trials of antidepressant medications
Exclusion -Dementia -Unstable medical illness -Unable to take any of the OPTIMUM medications
ow OPTIMUM Works
How do I refer my patients? Contact us to refer your patients. We’ll screen your patients and let you know when your patient is eligible.
What can I expect? We will ask you to prescribe a step 1 medication at a specific dose. You prescribe it. If your patient does not respond to, tolerate or qualify for Step 1 medication, they move to Step 2: add lithium or switch to nortriptyline.
How is the medication managed? We’ll call your patient every two weeks for brief counseling and ask about symptoms and side effects. We then recommend that you raise or lower the dose, stay the course, or stop the medication. This partnership provides measurement-based collaborative care to your patients.
What if the patient has a side effect or other problem? Report it to us; we will follow-up. The study psychiatrists can provide clinical recommendations to you and your patient based on safety labs and drug monitoring.
How will we be compensated for our time? Participants will be compensated $50 for the initial screening visit and $25 for each assessment visit after that. Clinicians will also receive compensation for their time.
OPTIMUM study design
Study medication prescribing information
Aripiprazole
Bupropion
Lithium
nortriptyline
Insurance Coverage for medication and clinical care
Los Angeles (310) 206-5240 LateLifeWellness@ mednet.ucla.edu