Is Quality Mental Health Care Possible?
“Doing it right the first time” has become a mantra for business, although it is often easier said than done. The right way, of course, is the way that leads to the desired business outcomes, and without excessive cost. Mental health care also has a right way to do things the first time, but the principles that underlie quality are not always obvious to a casual observer. Much of what passes for quality care these days is not, and even experts can sometimes have trouble determining where superior care can be found. So, is quality mental health care possible? Of course it is, as long as attention is paid to some basic principles. For a start, you have to know where you want to end up. From an employer perspective, that means effective and cost effective care for employee problems. Ideally, quality mental health care outlays will be more than offset by savings in such employer costs as absenteeism, recruitment and training, reduced productivity, and other health care expenses. From the e
