Use of BASIS-32 for Outcome Assessment of Recipients of Outpatient Mental Health Services

This study was undertaken to test both the technical and practical aspects of usefulness of BASIS-32 for outcome assessment of recipients of mental health outpatient services. The technical aspects focused on the ability of BASIS-32 to accurately and reliably assess the client's difficulty in each of the domains that comprise the BASIS-32 and its potential for documenting change. Practical aspects of usefulness focused on the processes and costs of outcome assessment, including data collection, management, analysis, and reporting of results, as well as usefulness of results to clinical providers, managers, payers, and policy makers. This study also asked if the BASIS-32 and SF-36 measure the same thing. If not, it asked what the areas of overlap are and the unique areas of each measure.