Impact of Integration of Mental Health Service and Comprehensive Medical Care

Effect of the introduction of mental health services into a comprehensive prepaid medical care facility was studied. The subjects were two independent subsamples of all individuals seen in the mental health service for the first time in 1967, and two comparison groups not seen in the mental health service. Data consisted of medical visits from 1962 through 1969 and mental health visits from 1967 through 1969. Insufficient support was found for the assertion that mental health services produce savings of medical care. Some of the complex interactions between care for somatic and mental health treatment variables, and points for future study are noted.