Financial Analysis of Behavioral Health Services in a Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic.
OBJECTIVE This article addresses a current need in psychological practice by describing a financially feasible model that moves toward integrated care of behavioral health services in a pediatric endocrinology clinic. METHODS Financial information (costs and revenue associated with behavioral health services) for the clinic, over an 18 month period (July 2012 to December 2013) was obtained through the hospital's financial department. The clinic meets one half day per week. RESULTS Over the 18 month period, the behavioral health services generated a net gain of $3661.45 in the favor of the clinic. We determined that the psychologist and clinical psychology residents needed to see a total of four patients per half day clinic for the clinic to "break even." CONCLUSIONS We describe one financially feasible way of integrating behavioral health services into a pediatric endocrinology clinic in the hope that this will be generalizable to other medical settings.
Journal of pediatric psychology