Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders in Germany. Different sectors and disciplines participate in mental healthcare of these patients, but there is a lack of empirical evidence of the treatment outcomes in different settings.

The study focuses on analyzing the care pathways of patients with anxiety disorders and the effects of such pathways on critical events like sick leave, early retirement and mortality.

The analysis aims at developing recommendations for optimizing treatment with a view to minimize the rate of occurrence of critical events during the care pathway.

Secondary data of three statutory health insurance companies and of the German Pension Funds of the years 2005–2007. The analyses are based on 744,742 persons with at least one diagnosis of an anxiety disorder.

The analyses reveal a low rate of changes between primary and specialized care. There was a high number of care pathways (n = 2.608).The most common type was care by primary care physicians/somatic specialists only (60.5% of patients), followed by a treatment by a psychiatrist only (9.5%). Patients, who were only treated by general practitioners/somatic specialists, had significantly lower rates of sick leave and early retirement. This may indicate that cases with more favourable prognoses are found with this care pathway.

Analyses of care pathways using secondary data can contribute to identify potential for optimizing mental health care services and provide information about intersectoral interface problems, which should be considered in the quality management of mental healthcare.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.