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There is a well-established tradition in standardized evaluation of the symptomatology and the social performance of psychiatric patients (Wing et al. 1974; WHO, 1983b; Platt, 1983) together with instruments for describing the pattern of contacts with services, like Psychiatric Case Registers (Wing & Hailey, 1972; ten Horn et al. 1986). Interest in a systematic assessment procedure for recording which action should be taken by services in the presence of a problem is more recent. Instruments for these evaluations are still experimental.

The Italian psychiatric reform has attracted much interest and controversy around the world. While quantitative evidence on its implementation has already been provided (Tansella et al. 1987; de Girolamo, 1989), studies of the effects of the reform on patients are lacking.

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