How Measurement-Based Care Fills Gaps in Traditional Therapy
Professional evaluation of your client’s progress is central to your practice.
However, you may often only have infrequent, qualitative feedback to work with. MBC is specifically intended to help with such issues.
More objective progress assessment
Even the best clinician may not always be able to capture a complete picture of a client’s mental state during session conversations.
MBC mitigates subjective professional judgment by using standardised, validated questionnaires and symptom tracking tools, such as:
- PHQ-9 to measure depressive symptoms
- GAD-7 to assess generalised anxiety
- CCSM-5 to screen for a range of issues, including sleep disorders and memory issues
- PROMIS to measure fatigue, emotional distress, cognition and social well-being
The data from these client-reported outcomes complements your qualitative assessment, providing a far more comprehensive view of progress.
Proactive vs. reactive adjustments
Regular data collection enables you to see trends in symptoms and well-being so that you can make any necessary changes immediately.
Studies have shown remission rates up to 75% higher with MBC than without routine measurement.
Better client engagement
By regularly completing self-report measures, clients can become more engaged in the therapeutic process.
One recent study reported a 23.5% improvement in combined PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores following the introduction of MBC, demonstrating a tangible improvement in client outcomes.
Barriers to implementing measurement-based care
Despite its clear benefits, fewer than 20% of therapists consistently use MBC. The most common barriers include:
Lack of training: Therapists may lack the knowledge or skills to select appropriate measures and interpret the results.
Workflow disruption: Integrating MBC may feel disruptive if it requires establishing new processes for data collection and review.
Time constraints: Lack of time is the most common barrier to MBC adoption, with clinicians concerned that the time to administer, score and interpret these measures would detract from time spent directly interacting.
How Mend can help you seamlessly integrate measurement-based care
Mend offers powerful client engagement software that integrates with your existing electronic health record (EHR) system. It automates the data collection process for MBC, sending
assessments for clients to complete before their appointments. It then automatically scores, analyzes and interprets the results.
The data, trend visualisations and AI-powered summaries are integrated directly into your workflow, with client-friendly, sharable screens showing wins and progress. You can instantly spot concerning patterns or use the voice assistant to ask for a brief about your next appointment.
As Dr. Elise Herman, Chief Clinical Officer at Mend, puts it, “The data flows directly into your EHR, alerts trigger for high-risk scores, and you walk into the session already knowing exactly where your patient stands.”
The company aims to improve client outcomes across the board with MBC implementation.
Elise notes: “When someone sees their PHQ-9 drop from 18 to 10 over six sessions, that’s concrete proof their investment in therapy is paying off. The question isn’t whether you can afford to implement MBC. It’s whether you can afford not to.”
A new standard of care
While barriers have slowed adoption, the benefits of MBC are undeniable.
New automated solutions such as Mend remove those obstacles entirely, making it easier than ever to provide data-driven, effective care to every client.
The question is no longer whether you should implement MBC, but how soon you want to start.
