The ethical considerations of managed care in mental health treatment

1. Managed care as a cost-cutting technique is becoming increasingly prevalent; one reason for its growth is the increasing number of people covered by health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. 2. Ethical areas of concern raised by managed care include restrictions on patient autonomy of choice of treatment and treatment site; relationship between the nurse as a managed care agent and the patient; patient responsibility in treatment decisions made through managed care; and denial, curtailment, or alteration of access to treatment based on compliance. 3. Managed care is a tool to conserve and equitably distribute care resources. To be certain that managed care performs this function equitably, the profession must continue to examine managed care in the light of biomedical ethics.