title: Managed care strategy for mental health services.
abstract: In the UK, managed care is beginning to be recognized as a cost effective, quality-driven system which can be used to structure patient care. This article examines the potential use of managed care pathways in mental health services, focusing on clients with schizophrenia. The strengths of managed care include the effective coordination of healthcare resources, the clear accountable audit of mental health practice and the re-engineering of mental health practice to improve patient outcomes. Problems in designing representative care pathways and encouraging healthcare providers to implement care pathways are some of the disadvantages of this system.
authors.affiliation: City University, London.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D019091:Critical Pathways; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000628:therapy