Mental Health/Medical Care Cost Offsets: Opportunities for Managed Care

This 1999 paper argued that managed care can achieve cost savings and improved outcomes by training utilization managers to make mental health services more accessible to patients who's excessive use of general medical care is related to their mental health condition.  The authors not that such systems are more likely to develop in systems where mental health and medical/surgical management are integrated. 

The full paper is available through the Health Affairs website: http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/reprint/18/2/79.pdf 

 Citation: Olfson, M., Sing, M., & Schlesinger, H. J. (1999). Mental health/medical care cost offsets: opportunities for managed care. Health Affairs, 18(2), 79-90.