Dataset Information

Improving access to services for psychotic patients: does implementing a waiting time target make a difference.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

In April 2015, the English National Health Service started implementing the first waiting time targets in mental health care. This study aims to investigate the effect of the 14-day waiting time target for early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services after the first six months of its implementation.

Study design

We analyse a cohort of first-episode psychosis patients from the English administrative Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Dataset 2011 to 2015. We compare patients being treated by EIP services (treatment) with those receiving care from standard community mental health services (control). We combine non-parametric matching with a difference-in-difference approach to account for observed and unobserved group differences. We analyse the probability of waiting below target and look at different percentiles of the waiting time distribution.

Results

EIP patients had an 11.6-18.4 percentage point higher chance of waiting below target post-policy compared to standard care patients. However, post-policy trends at different percentiles of the waiting time distribution were not different between groups.

Conclusions

Mental health providers seem to respond to waiting time targets in a similar way as physical health providers. The increased proportion waiting below target did not, however, result in an overall improvement across the waiting time distribution.

SUBMITTER: Kreutzberg A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7366592 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Improving access to services for psychotic patients: does implementing a waiting time target make a difference.

Kreutzberg Anika A Jacobs Rowena R

The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care 20200225 5

<h4>Objective</h4>In April 2015, the English National Health Service started implementing the first waiting time targets in mental health care. This study aims to investigate the effect of the 14-day waiting time target for early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services after the first six months of its implementation.<h4>Study design</h4>We analyse a cohort of first-episode psychosis patients from the English administrative Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Dataset 2011 to 2015. We compar ...[more]

PMID: 32100156

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Dataset Information

Improving access to services for psychotic patients: does implementing a waiting time target make a difference.

Objective

Study design

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Improving access to services for psychotic patients: does implementing a waiting time target make a difference.

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