title: Service penetration by persons with severe mental illness: how should it be measured?
abstract: As performance indicators and outcomes measures become essential parts of doing business, providers of mental health services are developing and using a number of access measures. One that is being used with increasing frequency is service penetration. However, the lack of standard methods for calculating and reporting service penetration has made the comparison of penetration rates cross studies difficult. This article discusses the conceptualization and operationalization of service penetration. In addition, it presents an exploratory study of service penetration using data from the same persons using very different data sources; these data were collected during an evaluation of a Medicaid managed care system in Florida. The article offers recommendations for the use and reporting of service penetration rates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, 13301 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. stiles@fmhi.usf.edu
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Stiles
authors.forename: Roger A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Boothroyd
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zong
mesh_terms: D019090:Case Management; D005431:Florida; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000379:methods*