Promoting Mental Health Screenings in a Specialty Practice Clinic: A Process Improvement Initiative

Anxiety and depression occur commonly among individuals with Phenylketonuria (PKU), affecting their quality of life and treatment adherence. Despite this, routine mental health screening is not widely implemented in specialty metabolic clinics. Aim: The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to promote patient well-being within a local academic medicine clinic by implementing systematic screening for anxiety and depression among patients 13 years and older with phenylketonuria. Methods: Following the Johns Hopkins Evidence-Based Practice model, pre-surveys assessed the clinic team's knowledge and confidence in using mental health screening tools. A clinician toolkit was developed, the screening program was implemented, and post-surveys were conducted 11 weeks later to evaluate changes. Education sessions and mid-implementation check-ins provided feedback. EMR data tracked screening and referrals. Analyses included descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Nineteen participants completed pre-and-post surveys, showing significant improvements, with medium to high effect sizes, in accessing, administering, and interpreting screening tools. EMR data indicated 86.8% of eligible patients were screened, with 36.5% screening positive for depression and/or anxiety. Conclusion: Implementing systematic mental health screening in a specialty metabolic clinic is feasible and beneficial, improving clinician confidence and patient care. Future efforts should expand diagnoses and integrate tools within the EMR.