Heavy users of mental health care have substantially different patterns of health care use [ScienceDaily.com]

The study published in the January issue of Health Affairs is one of the first to look at heavy users of mental health care specifically -- most studies to date have focused on all heavy users.

The study found the average cost of health services used by heavy users of mental health care was more than 30 per cent greater than for other heavy users of health care. Mental health services, including psychiatric hospitalizations and visits to a physician or a psychiatrist, made up the largest portion (about 88 per cent) of the total cost, and services not related to mental health accounted for the remaining 12 per cent.