Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:543-553
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
Privatization of psychiatric services
RA Dorwart and M Schlesinger
Harvard University Division of Health Policy Research and Education, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA 02138.
The authors provide an overview of privatization, a major trend in mental
health policy, focusing in particular on the reasons for and consequences
of substantial growth and change in ownership of private psychiatric
hospitals; the proportion of all nonfederal psychiatric inpatient beds in
private facilities has increased from less than 10% in 1970 to 35% today.
It is estimated that between 1970 and 1986, the proportion of total
nonfederal psychiatric inpatient beds in the United States that were under
corporate for-profit auspices increased from about 1% to 15%. The authors
distinguish and examine several aspects of privatization and assess the
implications of these changes for psychiatry and for public policy and
research.
