Prioritizing among patients seeking subsidized psychotherapy

SUMMARY

Prioritizing patients for subsidized psychotherapy is necessary when resources are scarce. In this study, three groups of ten judges each, representing the professional, clinical perspective, the political decision-making perspective, and the layman's perspective, respectively, were given the task of deciding which of fifteen patients on a waiting-list for psychotherapy and psychoanalysis they would recommend for subsidization. Statistical analyses showed similarities between the priorities of laymen and decision-makers, whereas clinicians prioritized the patients differently. The regression weights of patient variables in explaining the groups' priorities suggest that laymen and decision-makers tend to focus on the urgency of a case from a humanitarian point of view, whereas clinicians try to balance such considerations against the apparent suitability of the case for psychotherapeutic treatment.