Is Treating Patients with First-Episode Psychosis Cost-Effective?
Open accessAbstract
Ample Evidence Supports Specialized Early InterventionT he last decade has seen a burgeoning interest not only in research in first-episode psychosis (FEP), its treatment, and early detection but also in the establishment of several early intervention (EI) services.While the enthusiasm for EI is inherently appealing, it has its detractors.Whether the benefits of a specialized EI approach to treatment of FEP are worth the costs it may incur has generated some heated debate.While we do not have all the answers yet, I will argue that this new development in service delivery is based on good evidence and likely to be cost-beneficial in the long run.To shed more light, rather than simply generate more heat, it is important to examine several key questions related to EI and its benefits.What is EI?Is it effective?Is it worth the cost and should EI be incorporated into mental health policy in Canada?Should EI include services for patients in the so-called prodromal stage of psychosis?
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Evidence consistently shows cost-effectiveness of early interventions in psychosis across different health systems.
“Evidence consistently shows cost-effectiveness of early interventions in psychosis across different health systems.”
From The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health (2024) · cites this paper as [419]
The section “Are Costs Associated With EI Services Unjustified?” reports cost savings in some studies, including a Canadian study. But it also says few studies examined costs, early savings were offset by higher staffing costs, and the evidence is not strong enough to answer the cost question definitively. It therefore does not support the claim that cost-effectiveness is consistently established across health systems. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Cites
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Implementing Early Intervention in Psychosis: A Guide to Establishing Psychosis Services
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The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health
McGorry, P. D., Mei, C., Dalal, N., Alvarez-Jimenez, M., Blakemore, S.-J., Browne, V., Dooley, B., Hickie, I. B., Jones, P. B., McDaid, D., et al. (2024) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(24)00163-9 · Cited by 663 · see citing works
Self-citationShah, J. L., Jones, N., van Os, J., McGorry, P. D., & Gülöksüz, S. (2022) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(21)00467-3 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Simulation in Undergraduate Psychiatry: Exploring the Depth of Learner Engagement
Abdool, P. S., Nirula, L., Bonato, S., Rajji, T. K., & Silver, I. L. (2017) · Academic Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s40596-016-0633-9 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Detecting emotional disorder in young people in primary care
Sanci, L., Lewis, D., & Patton, G. (2010) · Current Opinion in Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/yco.0b013e32833aac38 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
- Authors
- Malla, A., & Pelosi, A. J.
- Affiliations
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute (CA)
- Hairmyres Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Malla, Ashok
- Pelosi, Anthony J
- Venue
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-01
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-8
- ISSN
- 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
- 1497-0015
- OpenAlex
- W1437114680
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychiatric care and mental health services
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Keywords
- first-episode psychosis, early intervention, cost-effectiveness, mental health services, prodromal psychosis, mental health policy, service delivery
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Humans, Mental Health Services, Treatment Outcome
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