The critical difference between MOMCare and usual care – Maternity Support Services – is the integrated team approach, a standardized depression severity assessment, and using a tracking system to monitor the effectiveness of depression care over time.
The MOMCare collaborative care team consists of a depression care specialist (usually a licensed clinical social worker), a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and the woman’s OB provider. Members of this team review every patient’s depression scores (PHQ-9) on the depression care specialist’s caseload every week.
Women in MOMCare are offered a choice of Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy or anti-depressant medication, or both. If the woman is not responding as quickly to the care she is receiving, adjustments are readily made to ensure that she will be feeling better soon. She may increase the number of Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy sessions and/or augment psychotherapy with anti-depressant medication. If the latter, the psychiatric consultant makes sure she is on an optimal dose of medication.