Deriving service costs for a clubhouse psychosocial rehabilitation program.
This article (a) discusses "function cost," a concept to estimate costs where consumers are involved both in delivery and receipt of services; (b) develops a methodology for costing service units for psychosocial rehabilitation clubhouses; and (c) presents a case study of a clubhouse program. Using function cost to estimate the value of member time leads to costs being on average about 10% higher than when using opportunity cost. Because the case-study clubhouse is typical in key dimensions, the methods used here appear generalizable to other programs and should have utility for other rehabilitation-based services for individuals with mental illness.
Cowell
Alexander J
AJ
Behavioral Health Economics Program at RTI, 3040 Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA. cowell@rti.org
Pollio
David E
DE
North
Carol S
CS
Stewart
Andrew M
AM
McCabe
Michelle M
MM
Anderson
Donald W
DW
D000328:Adult; D004180:Direct Service Costs; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D012657:Self-Help Groups / Q000191:economics*