title: Community care: costs and benefits for a chronic patient.
abstract: The authors analyzed the costs and benefits of community care for a middle-aged chronic woman patient who was receiving care from a neighborhood health center after a total of eight years of hospitalization. Cost comparisons over a three-year period were made between the neighborhood center and a state hospital, the center and a day program of a community mental health center, and the center and the inpatient unit of a community mental health center. Cost of care in the neighborhood center fell from $2110 in the first year to $640 in the third, while costs in the alternative settings increased substantially. The patient's clinical status was rated "much improved" in the community.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003631:Day Care, Medical; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006760:Hospitalization; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012949:Social Work, Psychiatric; D013997:Time Factors