For Clinicians

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.