Mental Health Performance Measurement in Corrections

Correctional facilities have become, by default, one of the largest providers of mental health care for patients with serious mental illness. In its 2002 Report to Congress, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care has reported that most facilities do not provide quality mental health care, nor do they conform to nationally accepted guidelines for mental health screening and treatment. This article describes the product of a consensus panel of correctional health care experts, charged to develop performance measures, based on nationally accepted standards, for selected elements of psychiatric treatment behind bars, aimed to improve the quality of care. Performance measures were developed for medication adherence, suicide prevention, mental health treatment planning, and sleep medication usage.