The CAG Bipolar the CAG Bipolar RCT

Bipolar disorder is a complex illness with a complex treatment that differs during manic, depressed and remitted states, frequently leaving patients with decreased quality of life and impaired psychosocial function. Traditionally, psychiatry has been sparsely subspecialized in Denmark as well as internationally during the last four decades leaving patients in generalized psychiatric settings. At the same time, demands to clinical skills, research and education have increased, and IT solutions have emerged as a possible way to optimize treatment. Effects of organizational changes and digital health interventions are rarely investigated scientifically in health care services. This is a randomized controlled trial conducted in the entire Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark including all psychiatric centers in the region. The CAG Bipolar study is a large-scale pragmatic randomized controlled trial aiming to investigate whether specialized and more centralized treatment (into a clinical academic group (CAG)) improves lives and outcomes for patients with bipolar disorder (N= 1000 patients). Findings from the study will have great impact on future organization and optimization of treatment within psychiatry in Denmark as well as internationally.