The Cost of Services of a Day Psychotherapy Unit
The Cost of Therapy Services Provided by a Day Psychotherapy Unit
Ch.Kostopoulos, N.Karapostoli, N.Polyzos, V.Bardis, D.Bartsokas, G.Pierrakos, I.K.Tsegos
Open Psychotherapy Centre
Cost accounting has an active part in the allocation of scare resources and in measuring the efficacy of the therapy services. Due to the fact that the cost of the provided “classical” psychiatric services (hospitalization, pharmaceutical therapy e.t.c.) is too high, there is an increasing interest to other health care alternatives, i.e. community based psychiatric care. However, much of the “psychiatric reform” process through out Europe, is not based on knowledge of the cost and efectiveness of various interventions.Until recently there was no evidence to support that communal or other day care mental health services are preferable to institutional ones.
The Open Psychotherapy Centre is an autonomous, self-sufficient and non profit psychotherapy day center, which is not financial supported by any organization inside or outside Greece. It has adopted from the very beginning (1980) the communal approach both in therapy and administrative structure and set a rather ambitious target: to provide psychotherapy to severely disturbed patients on a daily basis. Research data estimating the various forms of cost for such services are still very few. The aim of the present study is the measurement of psychotherapy’s financial cost both for the patient and for the providing organization.
To determine and analyse the monetary cost of treatment services the basic principles of cost analysis were used: coding is through logistic analysis (the analysis of bills per cost center and expense category), determination of the Direct, Indirect and Operational or Shared-out Cost, stable and variable cost. The final product of the analysis is the “therapeutic hour”.
The results which have been arised confirm: a) the operational viability of the unit, b) the observance of the constitutio’s principles (i.e. good working conditions, practicing psychotherapy on a daily basis especially for the seriously disturbed patients, psychotherapy may be accessible to all patients, regardless their diagnosis or economic status), c) the low cost of psycho-therapy for the patient and the providing organization, especially that of group psychotherapy (Group Analysis and Therapeutic Community) comparatively to dyadic psychotherapy.
The comparison of the results of the present study in relation to other mental health care services in Greece was not possible due to the lack of relevant evidence.
Key Words: cost of therapy services, communal approach, day psychotherapy unit