Fee-for-Service Core Mental Health Services: Changes in Provider Source and Visit Frequency

Distribution of resources according to need is an important component in the delivery of mental health care services. The measure of visit frequency provides information on cost and a rough measure of resource use. This research atlas examines changes from 1992/93 to 1997/98 in provider source (physicians who provide mental health care) and the visit frequency of mental health care users.

In the five-year period, usage patterns remained fairly constant, with 63% of mental health care users receiving care from a general practitioner or family physician, 22% seeing a psychiatrist and 12% seeing both. Most significantly, services were delivered to a larger percentage of Ontario’s population by providers seeing more patients rather than through an increase in the relative number of providers.