Use of mental health resources in the treatment of adult out-patients with no diagnosable mental disorders.

Comparisons of adult out-patients diagnosed with V-code conditions and those with mental disorders were conducted in a number of areas related to patient and treatment characteristics. Data were collected from three community mental health centres over a 6-year period (n = 7,220) in a semi-rural region of Nova Scotia, Canada. V-code patients represented approximately one-third of the psychiatric out-patient admission in these centres. Comparisons of the two patient groups indicated that V-code patients were of a higher socio-economic status than patients diagnosed with mental disorders. The difficulties of patients with V-code conditions appeared to be less severe than those of patients with mental disorders. However, patients with V-code conditions consumed comparable treatment resources to patients with mental disorders. Both groups of patients were evaluated by their therapists as experiencing similar levels of improvement during the course of treatment. The implications of these findings for more efficient use of resources in community mental health centres are discussed.