Setting resource utilization standards in a Community Mental Health Center

Recognizing the impediments to standard setting in community mental health centers, the utilization review (UR) committee at West-Ros-Park Mental Health Center in Boston based its UR standards on clients' ability or inability to meet social and personal expectations in four areas: productivity, independent living/self-care, immediate social relationships, and extended social networks. Classifying treatment modalities into four service categories and analyzing clients' disabilities enabled the UR committee to establish practical standards for appropriate amounts and duration of services based on clients' role performance scores. Implications of this standard-setting approach are discussed, and an example of the standard-setting process undertaken in one of the facility's treatment programs is described.