The changing patient population in general hospital psychiatric services

There has been a profound expansion in the past 25 years in the numbers and categories of psychiatric patients treated in general hospital programs. These changes have been stimulated by new technologies, better integration of health and other human services systems, and changing fiscal concerns. Particularly affected have been inpatient units, emergency services, and the ambulatory care and consultation-liaison sections. Much greater attention and more effective treatments are currently available for involuntary, geriatric, and substance abuse patients, as well as patients with chronic psychiatric illnesses and a few discrete clinical entities. General hospitals need to continue to refine and expand their role as a major clinical component in the comprehensive psychiatric care delivery system.