lowest competitive bid for services rendered. Does this mean that the services will be inadequate or flawed? Not necessarily. Nevertheless, when patients fall ill or seek mental health care, therapists and physicians fall under organizational scrutiny of treatment plans, visit limitations and protocol for medication prescriptions.Managed care appears to focus purely on cost reduction and bottom line financials. Hospitals and training centers have downsized, even the amount of psychologists or mental health counselors have changed careers and to what cost? The cost of the patient.ReferencesAmerican Psychological Association, (1992). Ethical principles of psychologist and code of conduct. American Psychologist, 47, 1597-1611.Corcoran, Kevin, (1996). Maneuvering the maze of managed care: skills for mental health practitioners. New York: Simon & Schuster.Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. T., (1998). Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: A practical guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Sabin, J.E., (1996). Is Managed Care Ethical Care? Controversies in Managed Care Mental Health Care edited by Lazarus, A. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Press, pp.115-126.Winegar, N., (1992). The clinician’s guide to managed mental health care. Binghamton, New York: Hayworth Press. ...
