BEHAVIORAL HEALTH-CARE REPORT CARD INDICATORS - AMBHA BEGINS TO DEFINE STANDARDS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

AMBHA-The American Managed Behavioral Healthcare Association-was formed by a number of the country's leading national behavioral health managed care firms in order to influence the national reform debate and document the cost effectiveness of managed care techniques in this setting. Recently, AMBHA undertook the challenge of setting standardized quality assessment measures and methods and related benchmarks. The author describes the association's beginning efforts to develop a behavioral healthcare ''report card'' addressing basic elements of access, client satisfaction, quality and outcomes.