Economic grand rounds: types of practitioners and outpatient visits in a private managed behavioral health plan

Types of privately insured outpatient treatment provided by in-network practitioners were examined in a national managed behavioral health care organization to consider how practitioner type and expertise are related to diagnoses of mental disorders, substance use disorders, or both. Using 2004 practitioner credentialing, patient enrollment, and claims data, the investigators found that two-thirds of claims for psychiatrists involved medication management and two-thirds also involved psychotherapy (an overlap of about 30%). Most patients with substance use disorders saw practitioners who had specialized alcohol or drug disorder training. Claims for patients with more complex co-occurring mental and substance use disorders indicate utilization of appropriately qualified practitioners with substantial experience on average.     

Economic grand rounds: a self-directed care model for mental health recovery

Self-directed care programs give participants control over public funds to purchase services and supports for their own recovery. Data were examined for 106 individuals and showed that compared with the year before enrollment, in the year after enrollment, participants spent significantly less time in psychiatric inpatient and criminal justice settings and showed significantly better functioning. Of approximately $58,000 in direct expenditures by participants over 19 months of operation, 47% was spent on traditional psychiatric services, 13% on service substitutions for traditional care, 29% on tangible goods, 8% on uncovered medical care, and 3% on transportation. Early positive results of this pilot program support replication and evaluation elsewhere.     

Economic grand rounds: Financial burden of medical care and risk of forgoing care among Europeans with depressive symptoms

Little is known about the financial burden of individuals with depressive symptoms. This study explored that burden, using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. To assess the association between depressive symptoms and the individuals' financial burden for medical care and whether they forwent medical care because of costs, logistic regressions were performed that adjusted for age, gender, marital status, education, and chronic diseases. A total of 16,696 noninstitutionalized individuals aged 50-79 years were included in the study. Individuals with depressive symptoms and those without such symptoms bore a similar financial burden. However, individuals with depressive symptoms were at increased risk of forgoing care because of costs, which may worsen their health and financial situation.