Give your child and adolescent mental health service a health economics makeover

Specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) must make decisions about what treatments to provide to whom, when, where and how, within limited budgets. This raises questions about how services make such decisions, to best meet the mental health needs of their catchment. The methods and practices of Health Economics, a field with considerable expertise in measuring performance in health systems, can help CAMHS make better informed decisions regarding service provision. This paper identifies a process through a set of focused questions to help CAMHS examine and improve their performance. The aspects covered are service profile, costs, conceptualisation of outcomes and identification of value for money. The recommended approach should help CAMHS redirect resources to maximise benefits for their catchment population.

► Efficiency in CAMHS involves asking specific questions about service profile, service costs and client outcomes.
► Data collected within CAMHS should be used to guide decisions regarding the allocation of scarce resources.
► Identifying cost-effective practices will enable services to be more responsive to the needs of their catchment population.
► CAMHS with capacity to self-evaluate will be better placed to inform policy in the area of mental health.