Gervaise et. al, (1999) point out that increasingly financial reimbursement restrictions from managed care agencies play a critical role "in the quality of patient care" (1). According to the researchers, "complicated contractual arrangements among multiple providers obstruct rather than facilitate provisions for continuity of patient care" (Gervaise, et. al, 1).
New Advances In Modern Care - Addressing Time Limited Therapy
In the short- and long-term it is likely that limits on therapy will remain. Thus new treatment models must be developed to ensure adequate care. New requirements and restrictions placed by managed care organizations necessitate change in the health care field. Much of the research available supports more training for psychologists so they learn techniques for succeeding using group therapy practices (Drotos, 1997; Kent, 2000; Joseph, 1997). Group oriented approaches enable successful time limited treatments and cost effective services that health maintenance organizations are more likely to support.
There is still ample evidence that supports longer therapy for improved recovery rates (Lego, 1998). Some studies show that 50% of patients will get better with 11 or fewer treatment sessions, while 75% are likely to show improvement after dozens of sessions (Lego, 1998). Group oriented therapy may be able to achieve success without compromising care if it focuses on helping patient functions more effectively "in all aspects of their lives" and encourage patients to take an active role in changing their environment to prevent future fallbacks (Lego, 3).
Future therapy can be improved by encouraging patients to take a more proactive approach to their recovery. This may be accomplished through education and increased training for psychotherapists to help them develop...
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