The acceptability and effectiveness of patient-reported assessments and feedback in a managed behavioral healthcare setting

Objective: To determine whether providing clinicians with the results of a patient-reported mental health assessment would have a significant impact on patients' mental health outcomes. Study Design: The study used a portion of the SCL-90 (Symptom Checklist-90) to track the perceived mental health of 1374 patients in a managed behavioral healthcare system over 6 weeks. Methods: Participants were randomized into a feedback group whose clinicians received clinical feedback reports at intake and at 6 weeks, and a control group whose clinicians received no report. Results: Patients in the feedback group achieved statistically significant improvement in clinical status relative to controls. Conclusions: Overall, the study suggests that patient-reported mental health assessments have the potential both to become acceptable to clinicians and to improve the effectiveness of clinical care.