DENVER, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A University of Colorado study published Wednesday has determined employers can benefit when depressed employees receive high-quality treatment.
A two-year program for depressed employees treated at 12 primary care practices nationwide improved productivity at work by an average of 6 percent, or an estimated annual value of $1,491 per depressed full-time employee. The program also reduced absenteeism by 22 percent in two years, saving the companies an estimated $539 for each depressed full-time employee.
The program included 326 full- or part-time blue-collar and white-collar workers who were diagnosed with depression at the start of the study.
The study published in the journal Medical Care is among the first research to "demonstrate improving the quality of care for any chronic disease has positive consequences for productivity and absenteeism," said the study author, Dr. Kathryn Rost, of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
