Patterns of utilization of a neuropsychiatric assessment unit

During a one-year period an inpatient psychiatric ward specializing in the evaluation of neuropsychiatric disorders admitted 306 patients for neurodiagnostic services and 119 general psychiatric patients for brief treatment. About half the neurodiagnostic patients were referred by sources not affiliated with the unit, and about a quarter came from outside the immediate area, indicating that a variety of community agencies relied on the unit as a referral facility. In nearly 60 per cent of the cases evaluated, suspected medical or neurologic abnormality was confirmed and the probable etiology determined, while in only a small percentage was a previously unsuspected abnormality detected; this combination of outcomes suggests that most referrals were appropriate and that the unit's main function was to clarify etiologic relationship and design treatment plans.