ABSTRACT
Changes in the delivery system for the mental health and substance abuse service for millions of Americans in the 1990s has impacted and altered the practice of many mental health professionals. These changes have been brought about by the innovation of managed care or managed mental health care. Office practices and specialized programs or facility services were aimed at this group of individuals and families whose employer-sponsored health care benefits defrayed all or part of the cost of mental health and substance abuse treatment services. The prevalence of managed care necessitates that, in some communities, most mental health clinicians must be familiar with these systems and heavily focus their marketing efforts toward them. Clinical managers of not-for-profit agencies or facilities must also understand the potential of marketing aimed at these systems which payors have initiated to improve the quality, contain the costs, and facilitate the organization and coordination of services provided to covered populations of consumers.
