Cost-effectiveness analysis of case management versus a routine community care organization for patients with chronic schizophrenia

This article reports the economic analysis of a study on the implementation of case management in the Community Psychiatric Nursing Service (CPNS) car ing for chronic schizophrenic clients in Hong Kong. The purpose of the stud y was to compare the outcome of case management service with the convention al practice CPNS, Sixty-two subjects participated in the analysis. Cost-eff ectiveness analysis showed that case management costs more in Hong Kong $3, 600 (US$450) per person and that over a 5-month period, case management was associated with improvements in psychological and functional outcomes and patient satisfaction. The results of this study will inform policy makers a bout resource allocation and policy development in the implementation of ca se management for the care of mentally ill clients. Copyright (C) 2000 by W .B. Saunders Company.