Patients with multiple admissions in a psychiatric record linkage system

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Health Services Research
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Understanding patterns of psychiatric service utilization is key for resource allocation.
• Patients with multiple admissions represent a significant portion of healthcare costs.
• Identifying factors associated with high service utilization can improve patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze inpatient and outpatient service utilization in psychiatric patients with multiple admissions.
• To compare service use between patients with single and multiple admissions.
• To examine the specific characteristics of patients with dual diagnoses (major functional disorders and substance abuse) and multiple admissions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Kingston Psychiatric Record Linkage System.
• Compared service utilization patterns over a three-year period.
• Calculated a service utilization index based on inpatient stays and outpatient contacts.
• Employed multiple regression analysis to identify contributing factors to readmission.

Main Results:

• Patients with multiple admissions were typically young, less educated, lived alone, and had major functional disorders.
• Multiple regression indicated that undetermined factors significantly influence readmission.
• Patients with major functional disorders and co-occurring drug and alcohol abuse disorders showed a high propensity for multiple admissions.

Conclusions:

• The subgroup of psychiatric patients with dual diagnoses requires specialized services.
• Early identification of patients likely to extensively use services is necessary for cost-efficient and effective healthcare planning.
• Further research is needed to determine all factors contributing to psychiatric readmissions.