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Patient Volumes and Outcomes at the Center for Interventional Psychiatry

The Center for Interventional Psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital offers personalized care and treatment plans for patients with hard-to-treat neuropsychiatric disorders. Patients who choose our center come to us because we are a leader in our field based on volume and outcome. In addition to providing services, we also train other health professionals, and research new avenues of treatment.

Our work complements UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital, which has been a trusted leader in the field of psychiatry for more than 70 years. We are also one of the largest behavioral health care providers affiliated with an academic medical center in the United States.

An important aspect of our clinical program is ensuring that our treatment success compares well to other programs offering the same services.

Our Psychiatric Interventional Treatment Outcomes

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

We have provided ECT services for more than 30 years. In 2019, our center performed 3,621 ECT treatments for more than 200 patients. Between 70 and 75% of our patients experienced significant improvement in their symptoms of depression. This rate is consistent with improvement rates in ECT centers nationwide. UPMC is one of the few ECT providers in the tri-state area and offers this treatment for several psychiatric disorders. Our numbers have been growing over the past several years, as patients and their providers continue to realize the excellent benefit of ECT.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

TMS therapy was approved by the FDA in 2008, and our center began providing TMS treatment in July 2015. Since then, we have seen a steady increase in this service. In 2019, we provided a total of 1,410 treatment sessions. Close to 60% of our patients got better with this treatment; 40% went into remission. This rate of success is consistent with expected outcomes and remission rates for this treatment. UPMC is the one of the few providers of TMS services in the Pittsburgh area.

Note: Because deep brain stimulation (DBS) and esketamine services (EsKIT) are newer treatment options offered at the center, their long-term outcomes have not yet been established.

Contact the Center for Interventional Psychiatry at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital

For more information or to schedule an appointment with the Center for Interventional Psychiatry, please call 412-246-5063.