Quality care at risk in CMHCs: The need for Guidelines for Psychiatric Practice

The author discusses what he considers the inadequate attention paid to quality of care in many CMHCs. He suggests that the deterioration of quality is related to the exodus of competent psychiatrists. The Guidelines for Psychiatric Practice in Community Mental Health Centers should help to assure that quality care is delivered in a cost-effective manner. These guidelines should ultimately be incorporated into an accreditation process for CMHCs, and funding should be tied to such accreditation.This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Mental Health Administration, Woodstock, VT, March, 1988.