Although treatment of co-occurring behavioral and physical health problems could be facilitated by the linkages between health care providers, it is uncertain how such inter-agency linkages are affected by managed care. We used a sample of 167 service linkages to examine the effects of managed care arrangements on inter-agency communication, coordination, and perceived effectiveness. These linkages were identified based on interviews with 62 outpatient substance abuse treatment units in 2000. Results indicate that frequency of communication and inter-agency coordination are positively related to several managed care arrangements and may moderate the relationships between managed care arrangements and perceived effectiveness.
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Appendix
Appendix
Inter-Agency Coordination is the mean response of the OSATs to nine different questions about coordinated direct service activities between a given OSAT and a service provider. The questions were:
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(1)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you discuss clients in a case conference or joint meeting?”
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(2)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you send a written case summary?”
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(3)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you send a complete case record?”
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(4)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you provide a case summary over the phone/fax?”
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(5)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you make a follow-up call to the other program?”
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(6)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you receive a written case summary?”
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(7)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you receive a complete case record?”
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(8)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you receive a case summary over the phone/fax?”
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(9)
“When your clients are served by the other program, how often do you receive a follow-up call to the other program?”
The answers were coded from 0–4 with 0=NEVER, 1=RARELY, 2=SOMETIMES, 3=USUALLY, and 4=ALWAYS.
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Carter, W., Lee, SY., Thomas, K. et al. Managed Care, Inter-agency Linkages, and Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment. Adm Policy Ment Health 33, 122–131 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-005-0010-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-005-0010-6