Am J Psychiatry 1976; 133:1057-1060
Copyright © 1976 by American Psychiatric Association
Utilization of prepaid services by patients with psychiatric diagnoses
DT Fullerton, FN Lohrenz and GR Nyca
The authors document and discuss the utilization of psychiatric services in
a rural group practice before and after the institution of a prepaid health
plan. They found that the utilization of psychiatric services increased
dramatically during the first year of the plan's operation. The increase in
outpatient utilization continued throughout the 3 years studied, but
inpatient utilization decreased after the first year and later reached a
level lower than that seen before the plan was instituted. One possible
reason for the decline in inpatient utilization is that increased
outpatient care prevents hospitalization.
