[IDENTIFYING PREDICTORS OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES CONSUMPTION IN ISRAEL]

The budget for health services in Israel was recently increased to cover mental health. It was suggested to divide funds for psychiatric hospitalization between the HMOs based on their share of insured members. For ambulatory care, it was suggested to add risk adjustment based on age only to the capitation formula used for allocating health care funds. This simplistic measure encourages risk selection and discrimination of costly individuals.

To identify predictors of mental health services consumption in Israel, in order to implement them in the capitation formula.

Data were gathered on 27,446 individuals hospitalized in psychiatric wards in Israel in 2012-2013, and 6115 outpatients treated during this period in one mental health clinic. The association between demographic and clinical variables with services consumption was studied.

The average annual expenses per person on mental health were NIS 50,000 for hospitalization, NIS 1,700 for ambulatory care and NIS 7,000 for all services. Adult age and schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses predicted increased expenditure on all services. Being a male, single, Jewish and living in the economic periphery predicted increased expenditure mainly on hospitalization. Regression analysis using these variables explained up to 30% of variance.

It is possible to predict, at least partially, mental health consumption in Israel based on clinical and demographic variables.

Limitations of the study call or re-analysis using full databases, which are available only to the state authorities. Predictors of mental health consumption in Israel can be used for the risk adjustment of allocating funds for services.