CURRENT MENTAL-HEALTH-CARE ENVIRONMENTS - WHY MANAGED CARE IS NECESSARY

This article reviews the forces leading to the current emphases on managed mental health systems. Rapidly escalating costs, especially for inpatient care, and associated concerns for quality and patient outcomes, have led third-party payers and employers to demand more effective cost and quality controls. The article describes and illustrates methodologies for managing mental health costs, and reviews issues related to evaluating the impact of managed care on costs and quality of patient care.