Length of stay on a psychiatry-medicine unit. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 1989 Jan;11(1):31-5
Date
01/01/1989Pubmed ID
2912818DOI
10.1016/0163-8343(89)90023-6Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0024585073 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 16 CitationsAbstract
To assess the efficiency of a medical-psychiatric unit over 3 years, several studies were carried out on one combined psychiatry-medicine unit. On the Behavior Evaluation and Treatment Unit of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Division of General Hospital Psychiatry, average length of stay was calculated in successive cohorts of 28-31 consecutive patients (total 358 patients). Medical-surgical and psychiatric diagnoses were compared over a 2 1/2-year span; psychiatry diagnoses were compared to those on other units; and acuity of illness was measured comparatively by various methods. Length of stay decreased from more than 20 to less than 15 days. This effect did not appear to be directly related to diagnostic changes. Only minor increases in range of psychiatric diagnostic categories and changes in proportion of certain disorders were found. The acuity level was descriptively intermediate between that of a general medicine and that of a general psychiatry unit. Factors that could be related historically to these findings were discussed.
Author List
Young LD, Harsch HHAuthor
Harold H. Harsch MD Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultHospitals, Teaching
Humans
Length of Stay
Mental Disorders
Psychiatric Department, Hospital
Referral and Consultation
Retrospective Studies
Sick Role
Wisconsin
