Does monitoring need for care in patients diagnosed with severe mental illness impact on Psychiatric Service Use? Comparison of monitored patients with matched controls.

Background: Effectiveness of services for patients diagnosed with severe mental illness (SMI) may improve when treatment plans are needs based. A regional Cumulative Needs for Care Monitor (CNCM) introduced diagnostic and evaluative tools, allowing clinicians to explicitly assess patients' needs and negotiate treatment with the patient. We hypothesized that this would change care consumption patterns.