Treatment of people with mental illness: a decade-long perspective.
Many believe that managed behavioral health care has been associated with reduced access to care. Data from a variety of sources suggest that access has increased, although patterns of care and locations of treatment have changed. Data from Healthcare for Communities, a nationally representative community survey, show that access to care has not decreased for people with the most serious conditions who were more likely to receive specialty mental health care after 2000. Further, once people enter specialty care, the number of visits appears unrelated to need. The data highlight the urgent need for a greater focus on the quality of care and patient outcomes.
Rutgers University, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, USA.
David
D
Mechanic
Scott
S
Bilder
D003625:Data Collection; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States