Examined the ability of the Health of Nation Outcome Scales, designed to measure severity and development of a large range of problems of psychiatric patients, to predict access to psychiatric care, use of services and mental health outcomes. 533 inpatients and outpatients were evaluated in Lausanne, Switzerland. The results show a good acceptance of the scales by clinicians; grouping of problem profiles that suppose specific needs for some populations of patients; differentiation of access to care through the number and severity of problems; and sensitivity to problem outcomes for inpatient care. Limitations of the scales are low tolerance to measurement errors, with only one scale for each dimension, and low progression margin when measuring change of moderate problems, particularly in outpatient care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)