Accuracy of DSM-III diagnoses following a training program.

The authors describe a 2 1/2-day training program designed to teach mental health professionals how to use a new DSM-III classification scheme. The 251 participants had previous clinical training but no prior exposure to DSM-III. They were asked to diagnose three cases from a series of five videotapes case vignettes; the authors then compared the participants' diagnoses with the expert opinion of clinical faculty. The degree of agreement among the participants with the expert opinion varied across the five cases, but the overall level of agreement was high (74.2%). These results indicate that with adequate training the new DSM-III classification scheme can be accurately applied to diagnostic situations.

Introducing accountability in an outpatient mental health clinic: an administrative process evaluation.

The administrative evaluation implemented at TRIMS makes explicit the goals and objectives of the clinic and the extent to which they were attained. Prior to the initiation of the evaluation formalized evaluation procedures and measures of accountability were nonexistent, and the monitoring of clinic activities for descriptive management purposes was noticeably absent. The Goal Attainment Scaling method in the administrative evaluation formalizes the organization's informal process of defining goals and objectives. The evaluation strategy emphasizes the explicit statement of objectives and the criteria on which performance would be evaluated. In essence the evaluation was incorportated into the management activities of the clinic, measures of accountability were established and, based on this experience, an administrative evaluation has been established in all ten clinics in the outpatient division.