Community Care: Costs and Benefits for a Chronic Patient

The authors analyzed the costs and benefits of community care for a middle-aged chronic woman patient who was receiving care from a neighborhood health center after a total of eight years of hospitalization. Cost comparisons over a three-year period were made between the neighborhood center and a state hospital, the center and a day program of a community mental health center, and the center and the inpatient unit of a community mental health center. Cost of care in the neighborhood center fell from 2110 in the first year to 640 in the third, while costs in the alternative settings increased substantially. The patient's clinical status was rated "much improved" in the community.