Level of Care
Also written as: LOC — Level of Care
The intensity and setting of mental health or substance use treatment matched to a patient's clinical needs, ranging from outpatient to inpatient hospitalisation.
Full Definition
Level of care (LOC) in mental health services is a structured framework used to match patients to appropriate treatment intensity based on clinical criteria, most commonly the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria for substance use and LOCUS (Level of Care Utilization System) for psychiatric conditions. LOC designations include outpatient (OP), intensive outpatient (IOP), partial hospitalisation (PHP), residential, and inpatient. Editors will encounter LOC in utilisation review documents, insurance authorization letters, and clinical assessments. The term should be hyphenated as a compound modifier before a noun ('a level-of-care determination') but not as a predicate ('the level of care was appropriate').
Usage
Usage note: Hyphenate as attributive modifier ('level-of-care determination') but not predicatively ('the level of care was appropriate'). Abbreviation 'LOC' is acceptable after first use.
In Context
- "The utilisation review team determined that the patient no longer met criteria for inpatient level of care and recommended step-down to partial hospitalisation." — Utilisation review report
- "Hyphenate 'level-of-care' only when it precedes a noun: 'a level-of-care assessment,' not 'the level of care assessment.'" — Style sheet for managed care documents