Previous research has demonstrated a reduction in utilization of medical
services following the initiation of psychiatric services for certain
patients. The phenomenon has been called the offset effect. The authors
investigated the offset effect in a Veterans Administration medical center
setting. They found that the offset effect emerged only for patients who
had high rates of use of medical services who received mental health
services for 1 year or less. They discuss factors related to higher rates
of medical care utilization as well as important differences between the
present and previous research that require further study.Abstract Teaser