Accuracy of provider-supplied human resources survey data.

Studied the responses of 173 psychologists to a questionnaire requiring disaggregated data describing their last 2 patients. Ss were asked to recall patient data from memory and then to tabulate and record the actual data from their patients' files. Results indicate that the average perceived accuracy of the Ss' patient records was 4.6 on a scale of 1 (very inaccurate) to 5 (extremely accurate). (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Agreement on patient diagnosis, treatment, and referral across provider groups.

Presented a national sample of 581 psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and social workers with a questionnaire presenting 4 case vignettes taken almost verbatim from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) Case Book, to examine whether there would be differences in diagnosis both among providers within disciplines and between provider groups. Each vignette was prepared in order to ensure that all available information relevant to making diagnoses was included; however, the diagnoses were not presented to the Ss. Ss wrote their statement of the presenting problem and its severity and selected the best treatment plan and referral and the experts' diagnosis from lists of alternatives. Results suggest that as diagnosticians, these provider groups are essentially equivalent but that diagnostic findings are more reliable for the more severe mental disorders. Providers appear to alter their treatment plans depending on diagnosis; but for a particular diagnosis, they differ little as to the interventions deserving emphasis. Each provider group referred to itself the patients with less severe mental and emotional conditions. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)