MEASURING OUTPATIENT MENTAL-HEALTH-CARE IN THE UNITED-STATES

A standard definition of outpatient mental health care does not now ex ist. Data from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey are used t o examine how varying the definition influences utilization estimates. A broad definition of mental health care, which requires purchase of a psychotropic medication or a psychotherapy visit or a visit for a me ntal health condition, captures nearly seven times as many persons as a definition that requires a visit to a mental health specialist for a mental health condition and either purchase of a psychotropic medicat ion or psychotherapy. Because estimates of mental health service use a re highly sensitive to how treatment is defined, caution should be exe rcised in evaluating mental health utilization data.