Medicare and Medicaid News

Arch Psychiatr Nurs, Vol. 21, No. 5. (October 2007), pp. 257-269.

This study measured service satisfaction, perceptions of service quality and general health, and overall quality of care among 787 adult recipients of Medicaid mental health services. Methods included cross-sectional retrospective design and stratified random sampling technique. Respondents were satisfied with consumer-provider relationships and were dissatisfied with functional outcomes resulting from treatment. Satisfaction was positively correlated with ratings of mental health care and the mental health component score of the SF-12. Predictors of satisfaction included ratings of mental health care and overall health. Recommendations include coordination of services that promote patient functioning and measurement of consumer satisfaction as an indicator of quality.
PB Howard, MK Rayens, P El-Mallakh, JJ Clark