[Fate of nonadmitted patients in a psychiatric university clinic]

148 patients rejected by the Psychiatric Hospital of Tübingen University in the course of six months, were investigated with regard to case history and catamnesis. It was found that 82% of such patients had to be hospitalised within 30 days after rejection, and that existing outpatient treatment facilities are rarely sufficient to prevent this. The group of rejected alcohol addicts is distinctly over-represented compared to the total number of patients admitted to the hospital. It is only with this group that we can suspect a "silent" selection. During the period of our study, 75 patients residing in the city of Tübingen and in its rural districts, were rejected, whereas 200 were admitted from far-off residential areas. Considering the existing treatment facilities, it would be sufficient to change the policy of admission in order to cope with the requirements of medical care of acutely ill patients residing in the city and rural districts of Tübingen.