Objective: This paper uses individual practice-level data from psychiatrists to assess the impact of economic and professional workforce factors on routine practice. Design:. We used data from the 1996 National Survey of Psychiatric Practice, a twenty-three conducted by the American Psychiatric Association. Eight hundred and seventy four responding psychiatrists (90%) of the original sample were used in this study. We examined variation in psychiatric practice associated with financing sources, level of participation in managed care, practice setting, and practitioner demographics. These data were merged with 1996 Area Resources File data on countywide concentrations of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and office-based primary care physicians. Principal Findings: Psychiatrists with medium levels of managed care participation reported, on average, seeing significantly more patients per week, and providing more total weekly patient time per week than psychiatrists with zero levels of managed care participation. Psychiatrists with high levels of participation in managed care reported, on average, seeing significantly more patients per week, providing more total weekly patient time per week, and receiving more new monthly referrals than psychiatrists with zero levels of managed care participation.. Low concentrations of other competing psychiatrists or clinical psychologists were associated with increases in the number of patients treated per week by the psychiatrist, and in the number of total hours of direct patient care per week by the psychiatrist. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that payment source and level of managed care participation appear to be associated with significant treatment pattern variations.
Learning Objectives: Undderstand the impact of managed care participation on variation in routine psychiatric practice Understand the impact of mental helath financing sources on psychiatric practice
Keywords: Managed Care, Mental Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.