I costi diretti dei servizi psichiatrici in un dipartimento di salute mentale

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the mean unit cost of psychiatric services, broken down by type of output. The analysis concerned a psychiatric service (with a Psychiatric Ward in General Hospital (PWGH), a Day-Care Center, a Community Residential Facilitie (CRF) and a NHS Mental Center (NHSMC), located in the North of Italy, selected among the 14 participants of the SCORE (Schizophrenia COsts and REsources) project. The most important result of this study was to estimate a baseline unit cost which can be used for assessing the total cost of a psychiatric disease. The study was conducted according to the full cost method. However, drugs and examinations were not included in this analysis, assuming that these costs are tightly related to the specific psychiatric pathology considered. Personnel was the most relevant component of total cost, accounting for 65% in PWGH, 61% for NHSMC and 65% for CRF. The estimated unit cost was L.536.000 for a day of stay in PWGH, L.590.000 for a day hospital day in PWGH, L.110.000 for an outpatient consultation in PWGH, L.59.000 for a day in a Day-Care Center and L.375.000 for a day in CRF.