Hospital & community psychiatry
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A fixed-prepayment system (case-based reimbursement) for patients initially requiring hospital-level care was evaluated for one year through an arrangement between a private nonprofit psychiatric hospital and a self-insured company desiring to provide psychiatric services to its employees. This clinical and financial experiment offered a means of containing costs while monitoring quality of care. ⋯ However, costs for outpatient services for patients in the program were not calculated. Treatment outcomes and patients' satisfaction with hospital care were comparable for the two groups.