Introduction:

In Latin America, there are few publications on depression, especially those based on electronic health records (EHR), a useful resource for obtaining information on patient care in the context of health systems. The objective of the study was to characterize the population with depression, taking into account sociodemographic, clinical, and pharmacological management aspects, based on information provided by the EHRs in a high complexity hospital in Cali, Colombia.

Methods:

Retrospective descriptive study, based on medical history records of patients with a diagnosis of unipolar depression treated for the first time. A sample of 31 patients with at least three follow-up visits was analysed; sociodemographic, clinical, and treatment variables were collected.

Results:

The population was mostly women (67.7%), with a mean age of 49 years. One in every two patients had a job, an opportunity for direct access through their health plan and university education. Twenty patients had a history of mental illness. 84.3% had a moderate or severe depressive episode, 87.1% were exposed to psychosocial and 80.6% biological-medical stressors. Twenty-seven patients had started antidepressant management. Approximately 30% of cases were identified as treatment-resistant depression. Barriers to accessing mental health services and to accessing the information in the EHRs were evidenced.

Conclusions:

EHRs are a useful tool for accessing information for research on depression, relationship with other comorbidities, care, and treatment. It is proposed that adjustments be made to the clinical registry platforms that allow access to quality information for research purposes.

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