The journal of mental health policy and economics
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J Ment Health Policy Econ · Dec 2014
Mental health inpatient treatment expenditure trends in China, 2005-2012: evidence from Shandong.
Mental health is increasingly becoming a huge public health issue in China. Yet for various cultural, healthcare system, and social economic reasons, people with mental health need have long been under-served in China. In order to inform the current on-going health care reform, empirical evidences on the economic burden of mental illnesses in China are urgently needed to contribute to health policy makers' understanding of the potential benefits to society from allocating more resources to preventing and treating mental illness. However, the cost of mental illnesses and particularly its trend in China remains largely unknown. ⋯ The policy implications generated from the results of this study are two-fold: first of all, in order to meet the growing need of mental health care in China, the government needs to significantly increase its spending in preventing and treating mental illnesses. Second, cost containment in inpatient care would become a major challenge for mental health policy makers in China. Government support, clinical practices and guideline development, as well as research are urgently needed to promote mental health prevention and improve the efficiency of mental health system in China. The current mental health system, like the overall healthcare system in China, relies heavily on hospital inpatient care. In order to build a sustainable mental health care system to meet increasing population need in China, it is crucial to integrate mental health care reform with the ongoing primary health care reform. Future mental health policy reform and research in China should put more focus on how to strengthen primary care system as well as community support, establish effective two-tier referring mechanism between hospital and primary care system, and to ensure continuity of care.