Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
The movement of mental health care from mental hospitals to treatment in outpatient settings and nursing homes began in the 1950s. Here is how it happened. “The field of medicine where the ‘rediscovery of community’ found an immediately welcome reception was mental health services. A movement away from mental hospitals had already begun in the…
Although somewhat outdated, this report by Mark et al. (2007) provides a glimpse at trends in mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) spending. National expenditures for the treatment of MHSA disorders amounted to $121 billion in 2003, up from $70 billion in 1993. The average annual rate of (5.6%) was somewhat slower than spending growth…
Social safety net services are necessary, but often unprofitable for hospitals. Is the expansion of HMOs and for-profit hospitals jeopardizing these safety net servies? This is the question researcher Yu-Chu Shen investigates. To test this hypothesis, Shen examines how changes in the market share of HMOs and for-profit HMOs affects probability of shutting down following…
In this blog, I have frequently discussed the merits of Canadian and American health care systems (see Health Care Grudge Match). One thing most people can agree with is that mental health care is subpar in both countries. The Vancouver Sun reports of a man committing suicide by jumping off the Granville Street Bridge.…