Integrating case management and psychiatric hospitalization

Although case management programs attempt to reduce the use of psychiatric hospitalization for clients with long-term mental illness, inpatient treatment still is required for many individuals in even the best community support systems. Even when formal mechanisms for hospital-community liaison exist, there often is little effective collaboration between hospital and community treatment staffs. Depleted from struggling with relapsing patients, case managers often discontinue their efforts during hospitalization. At the same time, hospital staff often demonstrate little interest in community caregivers until discharge planning begins in earnest. Hospital staff and case managers have common barriers to effective collaboration, but they can work together toward the goal of achieving maximum benefit from hospitalization within the context of a long-term community plan.