Measuring effectiveness of mental health care.

Because they lack the objective data available to other caregivers, mental health care providers must arrange for close follow-up of patients in order to adequately assess the effectiveness of case management efforts. Measures of case management performance should combine patient-specific measures, which evaluate how well the case manager is meeting the needs of the patient, with system-oriented measures. To maintain quality while optimizing resource utilization, the entire treatment team must be actively involved in providing effective services.