| Abstract: | Suggests that empirical evidence has demonstrated that psychological interventions can effectively treat a wide range of child and adult health problems. The focus of this review is on costing issues associated with psychological interventions, including cost-effectiveness and cost offset (i.e., a reduction in health care costs attributable to effective intervention). Recent evidence has demonstrated that psychological interventions can be more cost-effective than optimal drug treatment. For example, although having comparable effectiveness, cognitive-behavioral treatments for panic disorder and for depression have been estimated to cost approximately one-third less than pharmacological treatment. Further, a recent meta-analysis of 91 research studies published between 1967 and 1997 found that average health care cost savings due to psychological intervention were in the range of 20-30% across studies, and 90% of the studies reported evidence of a medical cost offset. In conclusion, the evidence indicates that psychological treatments (1) can be cost-effective forms of treatment and (2) have the potential to reduce health care costs, as successfully treated patients typically reduce their utilization of other health care services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
