The Impact of a Behavioral Health Condition on High-Need Adults
<p>For “high-need” patients with three or more chronic conditions and a functional limitation, the burden of a diagnosed behavioral health condition entails not only greater use of health care services but also the likelihood of persistently higher health costs over time.</p><p>According to analyses of health spending data, The Commonwealth Fund’s Susan L. Hayes, Douglas McCarthy, and David Radley find that more than half of high-need adults in the U.S. have a diagnosed behavioral health condition such as depression or anxiety, alcohol- or substance-related disorders, or severe mental illness among their multiple chronic conditions.</p>
<p>The researchers also find that these adults more often struggle to get needed care and report worse experiences with patient services than those with high needs who don’t have a behavioral health problem. These findings reinforce the importance of an integrated approach to addressing behavioral health needs across the continuum of care for high-need patients, the authors say.</p>
<p>Read this <em>To the Point</em> post for the complete analysis and our slide-show explainer.</p>