Indicators of Treatment Coordination in Psychotherapy Reports

Objective: This study investigated how often psychopharmacological and psychiatric treatment (concurrent or previous) is mentioned in psychotherapy reports to an expert when applying for financial reimbursement of psychotherapy.Method: Out of a random sample of 1000 reports, all first applications were selected. Data on diagnoses, previous or concurrent treatment were extracted from the texts and forms. The proportion of mentions was compared between psychologists and physicians and between patients with different indications for medication according to the current guidelines using ?(2)-tests and multivariate logistic regression.Results: Medication was not mentioned in 61% of the 629 applications. Physicians mentioned it more often than psychologists (46% vs. 34%, adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.6; p = 0.003). In reports for patients who should receive medication according to the guidelines, it was mentioned more often (OR 2.1; p = 0.01). Similarly, outpatient psychiatric treatment was mentioned more often by physicians than by psychologists (44% vs. 35%; OR 1.5; p = 0.02).Conclusion: Psychiatric and psychopharmacological concurrent and previous treatment often go unnoticed in psychotherapy reports. It should be stressed by reviewers and during clinical training that this will improve in the future.