A global measure of access to mental health services for a managed care environment

The growing influence of managed care in mental health services has raised important questions about access to services. This article introduces and demonstrates a global measure of access that is based on the relationship between service utilization and the need for services. This measure has becom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mental health administration 1997-07, Vol.24 (3), p.268-277
Main Authors: Pandiani, J A, Banks, S M, Gauvin, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Adolescent
Adult
Care and treatment
Confidence Intervals
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Funding
Health care delivery
Health care policy
Health Care Utilization
Health Maintenance Organizations
Health policy
Health services
Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data
Health Services Research - methods
Health services utilization
Hospitals, Psychiatric - utilization
Humans
Male
Managed care
Managed Care Programs - statistics & numerical data
Measures
Mental disorders
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Mental health
Mental health care
Mental Health Services
Mental Health Services - utilization
Mental Illness
Mentally ill
Middle Aged
Models, Statistical
New Hampshire
Population
Prevalence
Probability
Quality of Health Care
Reimbursement
Retrospective Studies
Studies
United States
Vermont
Vermont - epidemiology
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Description
Summary:The growing influence of managed care in mental health services has raised important questions about access to services. This article introduces and demonstrates a global measure of access that is based on the relationship between service utilization and the need for services. This measure has become practical because of recent advances in measurement technology that provide more valid and reliable estimates of the prevalence of mental illness in general populations and of the number of people who receive mental health services across service sectors. The methodology is used to produce a report card type profile of access to inpatient mental health services (in state, general, private, and veterans hospitals) by residents of one state. This global measure can provide a powerful and efficient tool for monitoring and comparing the impact of managed care plans on access to mental health services.
ISSN:0092-8623
1094-3412
1556-3308
DOI:10.1007/bf02832661