Service penetration by persons with severe mental illness: How should it be measured?

• DOI: 10.1007/bf02287706
• Publication Date: 2006-01-25T18:47:58Z
• Authors: Paul G. Stiles; Roger A. Boothroyd; Kristen Snyder; Xiang Zong
• Keywords: Mental Health Services; 330; Health Services Accessibility; Interviews as Topic; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Humans; Health Service; 360; Standard Method; Mental and Social Health; Medicaid; Mental Disorders; Managed Care Programs; Mental Illness; Health Law and Policy; United States; 3. Good health; Mental Health; Utilization Review; Florida; Psychiatric and Mental Health; Public Health; Health Services Research; Law; Case Management

As performance indicators and outcomes measures become essential parts of doing business, providers of mental health services are developing and using a number of access measures. One that is being used with increasing frequency is service penetration. However, the lack of standard methods for calculating and reporting service penetration has made the comparison of penetration rates cross studies difficult. This article discusses the conceptualization and operationalization of service penetration. In addition, it presents an exploratory study of service penetration using data from the same persons using very different data sources; these data were collected during an evaluation of a Medicaid managed care system in Florida. The article offers recommendations for the use and reporting of service penetration rates.