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The impact of waiting time on patient outcomes: Evidence from early intervention in psychosis services in England

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  • Anika Reichert
  • Rowena Jacobs

Abstract

Recently, new emphasis was put on reducing waiting times in mental health services as there is an ongoing concern that longer waiting time for treatment leads to poorer health outcomes. However, little is known about delays within the mental health service system and its impact on patients. We explore the impact of waiting times on patient outcomes in the context of early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services in England from April 2012 to March 2015. We use the Mental Health Services Data Set and the routine outcome measure the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale. In a generalised linear regression model, we control for baseline outcomes, previous service use, and treatment intensity to account for possible endogeneity in waiting time. We find that longer waiting time is significantly associated with a deterioration in patient outcomes 12 months after acceptance for treatment for patients that are still in EIP care. Effects are strongest for waiting times longer than 3 months, and effect sizes are small to moderate. Patients with shorter treatment periods are not affected. The results suggest that policies should aim to reduce excessively long waits in order to improve outcomes for patients waiting for treatment for psychosis.

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  • Anika Reichert & Rowena Jacobs, 2018. "The impact of waiting time on patient outcomes: Evidence from early intervention in psychosis services in England," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(11), pages 1772-1787, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:27:y:2018:i:11:p:1772-1787
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.3800
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    9. Williams, Jenny & Bretteville-Jensen, Anne Line, 2022. "What's Another Day? The Effects of Wait Time for Substance Abuse Treatment on Health-Care Utilization, Employment and Crime," IZA Discussion Papers 15083, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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    11. Bergeot, Julien & Jusot, Florence, 2024. "How did unmet care needs during the pandemic affect health outcomes of older European individuals?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
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    13. Wilf - Miron, Rachel & Novikov, Ilya & Ziv, Arnona & Mandelbaum, Avishai & Ritov, Yaacov & Luxenburg, Osnat, 2020. "A novel methodology to measure waiting times for community-based specialist care in a public healthcare system," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(8), pages 805-811.
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