Quality of medical care for people with and without comorbid mental illness and substance misuse: systematic review of comparative studies.

BACKGROUND

There has been long-standing concern about the quality of medical care offered to people with mental illness.

AIMS

To investigate whether the quality of medical care received by people with mental health conditions, including substance misuse, differs from the care received by people who have no comparable mental disorder.

METHOD

A systematic review of studies that examined the quality of medical care in those with and without mental illness was conducted using robust critical appraisal techniques.

RESULTS

Of 31 valid studies, 27 examined receipt of medical care in those with and without mental illness and 10 examined medical care in those with and without substance use disorder (or dual diagnosis). Nineteen of 27 and 10 of 10, respectively, suggested inferior quality of care in at least one domain. Twelve studies found no appreciable differences in care or failed to detect a difference in at least one key area. Several studies showed an increase in healthcare utilisation but without any increase in quality. Three studies found superior care for individuals with mental illness in specific subdomains. There was inadequate information concerning patient satisfaction and structural differences in healthcare delivery. There was also inadequate separation of delivery of care from uptake in care on which to base causal explanations.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite similar or more frequent medical contacts, there are often disparities in the physical healthcare delivered to those with psychiatric illness although the magnitude of this effect varies considerably.