Evaluation Questions for Philadelphia's Capitation Plan for Mental Health Services

Dr. Sharfstein's Introduction: Public policy should be guided by sound data emerging from quality research. A shift in the financing of medical and psychiatric care toward capitation models representsa major change, and the Philadelphia capitation experiment described in the April column is one pioneering effort. The answers to the following evaluation questions about the Philadelphia experiment will help decision makers across the country as they contemplate a policy shift from retrospective to prospective payment.