Implementing Patient-Reported Outcomes to Improve the Quality of Care for Weight of Patients with Schizophrenia

“Enhancing QUality of Care In Psychosis” (EQUIP) was an eight-site clustered controlled trial of the implementation and effectiveness of patient-reported outcomes to support evidence-based practice and improve care for schizophrenia. Implementation sites chose to improve care for weight. Implementation included monitoring patient-reported outcomes using kiosks, patient and staff education, quality improvement teams, and phone care management. Qualitative and quantitative methods compared implementation and effectiveness between sites for 13 months. Eighty percent of 801 randomly selected patients were overweight. Two hundred one clinicians varied in competency. Baseline use of behavioral weight services was low. At implementation sites, patients became 2.3 times more likely to use weight services compared with control sites (95% CI, 1.5–3.6; χ² = 14.4; p < 0.01). There was no effect on the weight gain liability of medications prescribed. Controlling for baseline, patients’ final weight at control sites was 5.9 ± 2.7 kg heavier than at implementation sites (F = 4.8, p = 0.03). Patient-reported outcomes can inform implementation of evidence-based practice and improvement in outcomes.