SETTING MENTAL-HEALTH PRIORITIES - PROBLEMS AND POSSIBILITIES

A recent project at the Hastings Center examined the question of prior ity setting in the provision of mental health services. A central issu e was whether those services should bc prioritized independently of ot her health services. The answer to that question was no: they should h ave full parity. Even so, priority setting can be a complex venture. A t the heart of any such effort will be the relationship between empiri cal evidence on treatment outcomes and efficacy and the political and ethical interests that legitimately bear on interpreting and using tha t evidence. An argument is made that a priority should be given those whose suffering and inability to function in ordinary life is most pro nounced. even if the available treatment for them is comparatively les s efficacious than for other conditions.