[Community-based crisis home programme. Cost-efficient alternative to psychiatric hospitalization]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Mental Health Services Research
• Health Economics

Background:

• Shift in psychiatric care from inpatient to outpatient services.
• Introduction of the Zurich crisis home programme (CHP) as an alternative to hospitalization.
• CHP allows mentally ill patients to stay with host families while receiving outpatient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the quality of care provided by the Zurich crisis home programme (CHP).
• To determine if the financial benefits of the CHP come at the expense of reduced patient care quality.
• To assess the effectiveness of the CHP for patients with acute psychiatric crises.

Main Methods:

• Study conducted between January 2005 and June 2007, involving 33 patients in the Zurich CHP.
• Average patient stay in host families was 19 days.
• Data collected using five standardized rating instruments and compared with inpatient data.

Main Results:

• The CHP is effective in routine settings, offering cost-efficient crisis interventions.
• Financial advantages of the CHP do not compromise patient care quality compared to inpatient treatment.
• Patients with severe mental illnesses significantly benefit, avoiding hospitalization.

Conclusions:

• The Zurich crisis home programme (CHP) is a viable, cost-efficient alternative to traditional inpatient psychiatric treatment.
• The CHP demonstrates successful acute crisis intervention.
• This model of care should be considered for integration as a standard psychiatric service.