Pattern of follow up visits in a rural psychiatric clinic

The present work reports about the pattern of follow up visits of a psychiatric clinic operating at a rural primary health centre. The follow up visits of patients registered in the clinic during the years 1984 and 1985 were recorded. It was observed that patients of both sexes and of all age groups almost equally attend the follow up clinic. Epileptic patients formed the single largest group of follow up patients. It was also noted that more than 50% of patients did not visit the clinic after initial assessment. The implications of the results are discussed.