Duration of first admission and its relation to the readmission rate in a psychiatry hospital

Abstract

Background:Most psychiatric illnesses have a chronic relapsing course. It is estimated that the readmission rate for discharged patients is approximately 40-50% within one year of their discharge from the hospital. The current emphasis in mental health service is on brief hospitalization and providing community-based services.Aim:To understand the relationship between the duration of first hospital admission and the rates of readmission in a psychiatry hospital.Materials and Methods:All the patients admitted at Asha hospital, Hyderabad for the first time between 16 September, 2003 to 15 March, 2004, were included in the study. The hospital records of these patients were examined and the data was collected on various variables, which included demographic variables, duration of hospital stay, diagnosis, and the number of readmissions for a period of approximately three-and-a-half years. The duration of the first hospital stay was divided into four categories, Group 1:1-7 days, Group 2:8 to 14 days, Group 3:15 to 30 days, and Group 4: More than 30 days.Results:The sample consisted of 516 patients, out of whom 17 were excluded because of insufficient data. Two hundred and fifty patients belonged to Group 1 (1 to 7 days), 206 patients in Group 2 (8 to 14 days), Group 3 (15 to 30 days) constituted 35 patients, and eight patients were in Group 4 (>30 days).Conclusion:The length of the initial hospital stay is important to prevent future hospitalization. There are no definite predictors for readmission that could be detected, except for the length of the initial admission in the study.

Rate and predictors of 1-year readmission in tertiary psychiatric hospitals

“…This was an unexpected finding because high risk of suicide is known to be a significant factor in deciding the prognosis of the patient and predicting their risk of readmission. Other factors frequently reported as predictors of readmission are increased length of hospital stay and diagnosis of schizophrenia;[216202122] however, neither of these factors were found to be significant in the current study.…”

The effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention for people with schizophrenia: a systematic review

“…Relapse prevention is crucial in schziophrenia because each relapse increases a psychotic patient's residual symptoms and cotninuous, gradual functional impairments and disabilities, leading to disruption of one's life and burdens on family and carers 1,29 . Therefore, there are very high re-admission rates of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders due to symptom recurrrence and relapse, with a prevalence of 30-50% in one year and 70% in 10 years 30,31 . This high risk of re-hospitalization or relapse in schziophrenia has raised much concern globally because this can create a huge demand for mental health care services and the related costs, as well as the overall disease burden in societies 2,30 .…”

Predictors of 30-day Postdischarge Readmission to a Multistate National Sample of State Psychiatric Hospitals

“…The current mental health policy agenda promotes a recovery-oriented model focused on community-based solutions, continuing the deinstitutionalization movement. 3,4 Today, nearly 200 state psychiatric hospitals serve more than 140,000 patients and an array of patient populations on an annual basis. 2 The deinstitutionalization has decreased the length of hospitalizations and the number of inpatient stays and has increased the number of readmissions after discharge.…”