The effects of federal versus state funding and academic affiliation on mental health services

This study compares mental health services in three facilities on two domains: federal versus state funding and academic affiliation. Data from a cross-sectional Study of psychiatric outpatients is utilized to compare 196 VA patients to 337 non-VA patients treated in two state mental health agencies. The strength of academic affiliation of the facilities and the degree of participation in research and training activities differs significantly across facilities but is not associated with quality of care, clinical outcomes, or satisfaction with care. Compliance with schizophrenia PORT treatment recommendations is low but similar across sites. These findings Suggest that, unlike findings from the general medical literature, academic affiliation is unrelated to the quality and delivery of mental health care.