Resource utilization in mental illness - evaluation of an instrument for measuring direct costs of treatment for patients with severe mental illness (SMI)

• Published in: Nordic journal of psychiatry 2023-02, Vol.77 (2), p.172-178
• Main Authors: Stenmark, Richard, Eberhard, Jonas, Edman, Gunnar, Gaughran, Fiona, Jedenius, Erik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical Medicine; Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy; Health economics; Health Sciences; Humans; Hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisation, hälsopolitik och hälsoekonomi; Hälsovetenskap; Klinisk medicin; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Mental Disorders - therapy; mental health; Outpatients; psychiatric care; Psychiatry; psychosis; Psykiatri; Quality of Life; Sweden
• ISSN: 0803-9488; 1502-4725; 1502-4725
• DOI: 10.1080/08039488.2022.2077434

Serious mental illnesses (SMIs) exert a considerable financial burden on health-care systems. In this study, the resource utilization in mental illness (RUMI) tool was developed and employed to evaluate resource utilization in patients with SMI. Data from 107 patients with SMI treated in four psychiatric outpatient clinics in Sweden were collected. The relationships between costs for physical and psychiatric care, social services, and the justice system, to self-reported health and quality of life, educational level, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), the Clinical Global Impressions scale score (CGI), and body mass index (BMI) were studied. Sixteen out of 107 patients accounted for 74% of the total costs. The mean and median cost for 6 months included in the survey for social services, family and social welfare and healthcare, psychiatric and physical treatment interventions, mean 8349 EUR, median 2599 EUR per patient (currency value for 2021). Education and psychosocial function (GAF) were both negatively correlated with costs for the social services (education, r=-0.207, p