Prospective Payment and Psychiatry: An Interview With Joseph English, M.D

During an interview conducted in November 1983 H& CP Editor John A. Talbott, M.D., explored the ramifications of prospective payment for mental disorders with Joseph T. English, M.D., director of the department of psychiatry at St.Vincent's Medical Center in New York City. Dr. English, currently chair of the American Psychiatric Association's council on standards of practice and funding mechanisms, is an expert on prospective payment and chaired the APAS ad hoc study group on diagnosis related groups. He served as administrator ofthe Health Services and Mental Health Administration in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1968 to 1970 and is a former president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. The following is an edited text of the conversation between Dr. English and Dr. Talbott.