Employing behavioral methods to improve the context of care in a public psychiatric hospital: some applications to health care management

While intervention procedures grounded in behavioral science have proven useful in the provision of direct care and in organizational management, they are seldom used effectively in many psychiatric care organizations. Behavioral practitioners often acknowledge this fact but few have applied their behavior change skills to change the behavior of the organization that is failing. This report outlines several examples of how behavioral technology was employed from an administrative perspective to encourage and strengthen needed changes in the interdisciplinary clinical care procedures of a public psychiatric hospital. The potential of these procedures for administering health care provision as well as the challenges encountered in realizing such applications are discussed.