A Critique on Psychiatric Inpatient Admissions for Suicidality in Youth

ABSTRACT

For the last few decades, psychiatric inpatient admissions for the treatment of suicidality in US youth have been increasing. Nonetheless, since 2007, the national rate of completed suicides by youth has steadily and sizably increased. Therefore, a literature review was performed to evaluate the usefulness of the psychiatric inpatient admission of suicidal youths. The analysis concluded that suicidality is surprisingly common in youth, completed suicide is very uncommon in early adolescence, suicidal ideation is a major reason in early adolescence for inpatient admission, girls are admitted to psychiatric inpatient units three times more than boys even though boys complete suicide four times more than girls, inpatient stays average 6 days and are quite expensive, and repeat attempts after inpatient treatment are common. Thus, filling more beds for youth with suicidality lacks evidence of a public health, long-term benefit. Expanding the focus in psychiatry to population efforts including means reductions is recommended.

Impact of closure of the in-house psychiatric care unit on prehospital and emergency ward length of stay and disposition locations in patients who attempted suicide: A retrospective before-and-after cohort study at a community hospital in Japan

Suicide is an increasingly serious public health care concern worldwide. The impact of decreased in-house psychiatric resources on emergency care for suicidal patients has not been thoroughly examined. We evaluated the effects of closing an in-hospital psychiatric ward on the prehospital and emergency ward length of stay (LOS) and disposition location in patients who attempted suicide.This was a retrospective before-and-after study at a community emergency department (ED) in Japan. On March 31, 2014, the hospital closed its 50 psychiatric ward beds and outpatient consultation days were decreased from 5 to 2 days per week. Electronic health record data of suicidal patients who were brought to the ED were collected for 5 years before the decrease in in-hospital psychiatric services (April 1, 2009-March 31, 2014) and 5 years after the decrease (April 1, 2014-March 31, 2019). One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to compare prehospital and emergency ward LOS, and discharge location between the 2 groups.Of the 1083 eligible patients, 449 (41.5%) were brought to the ED after the closure of the psychiatric ward. Patients with older age, burns, and higher comorbidity index values, and those requiring endotracheal intubation, surgery, and emergency ward admission, were more likely to receive ED care after the psychiatric ward closure. In the propensity matched analysis with 418 pairs, the after-closure group showed a significant increase in median prehospital LOS (44.0 minutes vs 51.0 minutes, P < .001) and emergency ward LOS (3.0 days vs 4.0 days, P = .014) compared with the before-closure group. The rate of direct home return was significantly lower in the after-closure group compared with the before-closure group (87.1% vs 81.6%, odds ratio: 0.66; 95% confidence interval: 0.45-0.96).The prehospital and emergency ward LOS for patients who attempted suicide in the study site increased significantly after a decrease in hospital-based mental health services. Conversely, there was significant reduction in direct home discharge after the decrease in in-house psychiatric care. These results have important implications for future policy to address the increasing care needs of patients who attempt suicide.

Measuring outcomes on a Medical Psychiatric Unit: HoNOS,, CANSAS and costs

OBJECTIVE

To study the course of the functional status and healthcare needs of patients on a Medical Psychiatric Unit (MPU).

METHODS

In a single-centre observational prospective design the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) and Camberwell Assessment of Needs Short Appraisal Schedule (CANSAS) instruments were administered at admission and discharge. Functional status and healthcare needs were assessed utilizing the HoNOS and CANSAS respectively. The total costs of healthcare claims related to the admission were calculated based on claims data.

RESULTS

In total 50 patients were included with a mean improvement of 4.6 on the HoNOS and an effect size of 0.6.The total number of unmet needs fell from 208 to 115. The median costs per decreased HoNOS point were €2.842 and €6.880 per unmet need.

DISCUSSION

Many patients improved, but due to a large standard deviation at baseline and a low Cronbach's alpha, only 4 patients showed a reliable improvement on functional status. That substantial remission was achieved was shown by the decrease in unmet needs of 93 (44.7%) for the whole group. These observations support the implementation of MPUs, although more research is warranted to ensure cost-effectiveness.

[Psychiatry and psychiatric patients : A study of the adherence after psychiatric inpatient treatment at the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy at the Clinicum Klagenfurt am Wörthersee.]

BACKGROUND

Based on the data of an analysis of costs of psychopharmacological treatment by the Austrian Rechnungshof in 2011, which also revealed remarkable differences between Salzburg and Carinthia (federal states of Austria), a panel of experts discussed the potential causes. A consequence was the following prospective study, which took place at the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy in Klagenfurt/Carinthia.

METHODS

The aim in this mirror design study was to analize the data of psychopharmacologic treatment, epidemiological data of the treated patients (N = 230) and utilization of healthcare ressources such as contacts to psychiatrists or practicioners after discharge.

RESULTS

We could show a high adherence concerning the redeem of the prescriptions, a low proportion of generics, and a very low rate of contacts to psychiatrists contrasting contacts to practitioners.

CONCLUSIONS

Beneath that in the sense of descriptive epidemiology the data help to characterize adherence behavior after discharge and details of in- and outdoor treatment.

An analysis of the federal funding for mental health care in Brazil

This article analyzes spending on mental health by the Brazilian Ministry of Health between 2001 and 2014. It is documental research of the Brazilian Ministry of Health's databases. It analyzes the data using descriptive statistical analysis. Total spending on mental health for the period 2001 to 2014 shows a percentage increase in resources destined for outpatient care, but this increase is a reallocation from hospital services to community-based services and total resources for the mental health program remain at an average of 2.54% of the total health budget. Within outpatient expenditure, spending on medications remains high. Professionals committed to psychiatric reform fight to guarantee that a small fraction of the surplus appropriated by the state is directed towards social policies.

Exploration of a new model of care in a psychiatry unit

The model established at Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital involves family physicians as the most responsible physician. They act as "admission gatekeeper" for all unattached patients who are admitted to the psychiatry in-patient unit. A PubMed, EBSCO, OVID Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science database review of the last 10 years (2006-2016) was undertaken. A satisfaction survey was undertaken. An intensive literature review found this model to be unique. The model has proved to be extremely efficient and cost-effective.

Medicare program; inpatient psychiatric facilities prospective payment system--update for fiscal year beginning October 1, 2014 (FY 2015). Final rule

This final rule will update the prospective payment rates for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs). These changes will be applicable to IPF discharges occurring during the fiscal year (FY) beginning October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. This final rule will also address implementation of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes; finalize a new methodology for updating the cost of living adjustment (COLA), and finalize new quality measures and reporting requirements under the IPF quality reporting program.

[A needs-oriented discharge planning intervention for high utilisers of psychiatric services: quality of the implementation and opportunities for improvement]

OBJECTIVE

Process evaluation of a needs-oriented discharge planning and monitoring (NODPAM) intervention for patients with severe mental illness with high utilisation of inpatient psychiatric care (within a RCT showing lack of evidence of superiority over treatment as usual).

METHODS

Analysis of intervention drop-outs vs. intervention group patients participating in the intervention; analysis of the impact of intervention characteristics on unmet needs over time.

RESULTS

Patients with more severe forms of illness were more likely to be among intervention drop-outs, a relatively high proportion of unmet needs persisted in patients participating in the intervention. Good intervention implementation and high patient satisfaction with the intervention were associated with a reduction of unmet needs.

CONCLUSIONS

The NODPAM intervention failed to reach patients with high service use and more severe forms of illness; quality of intervention implementation might have contributed to the lack of superiority over treatment as usual. The intervention might not have been well integrated in routine treatment and was therefore experienced as extraneous to routine care.

Financial impact of accurate discharge coding in a liaison psychiatry service

OBJECTIVE

Previous research has shown that patients seen by liaison psychiatry services are a complex and expensive patient group and that the psychiatric co-morbidities of hospital inpatients are poorly attested at discharge for assignment to diagnosis-related groups (DRGs). The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of discharge coding in a neuropsychiatry liaison population. We also aimed to establish whether or not, had the correct diagnosis been assigned, additional funding would have been allocated to the hospital.

METHODS

Diagnostic codes were retrospectively collected from the discharge diagnoses for all inpatients (n=276) referred to the neuropsychiatry liaison service in a university hospital over a 12 month period and these were compared to a consensus diagnosis. Using grouper software, codes were then changed to reflect the consensus diagnoses and DRGs were recalculated to see if the change in diagnosis led to a change in reimbursement for those patients.

RESULTS

Discharge diagnosis and consensus diagnosis were in agreement in 30% of cases. When discharge codes were corrected, patients changed to a higher paying DRG in 28/220 (12.7%) of patients. The increase in costing associated with this change in DRG was €305,349.

CONCLUSIONS

According to these results, not only is the complexity of patients seen by psychiatry consult services in general hospitals not reflected in the discharge diagnosis, but, in this sample of patients, the additional complexity would have led to a significant increase in reimbursement to the hospital. Further training of doctors should increase awareness of this important issue.

Costs of intensive psychiatric care for treatment-resistant minors

BACKGROUND

Mental health problems in childhood and adolescence result in high costs to society. Despite the relevance of these problems, there are still relatively few economic evaluations of this domain, in particular the evaluation of the costs of treatment-resistant minors.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The study is aimed to evaluate the costs of mental services use of 52 treatment-resistant minors at the Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit of the Niuvanniemi Hospital, in Kupio, Finland, and the costs of the mental health services used by these patients before their referral to this unit.

METHODS

The data were collected from case history files of minors (N 2dd = 2dd 52) who were directed to the intensive psychiatric care unit between 2004 and 2007. The data included information of the use of earlier specialised medical psychiatric care. The study evaluated the cost of daily bed charges for treatment-resistant minors.

RESULTS

The mean duration of the intensive psychiatric care unit treatment was twelve months. The average cost was 367,150/patient. Fifty-one per cent of the minors were discharged to less intensive mental health services after the intensive psychiatric care.

CONCLUSIONS

The costs of intensive psychiatric treatment are currently high. Benefits may be achieved over time. Further research should monitor and analyse the benefit of such expensive treatment on the outcomes of treatment-resistant patients over time, an investment in the minors' future, that ultimately benefits society.

Medicare Program; hospital inpatient prospective payment systems for acute care hospitals and the long-term care hospital prospective payment system changes and FY2011 rates; provider agreements and supplier approvals; and hospital conditions of participation for rehabilitation and respiratory care services; Medicaid program: accreditation for providers of inpatient psychiatric services. Final rules and interim final rule with comment period

: We are revising the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment systems (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals to implement changes arising from our continuing experience with these systems and to implement certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act and other legislation. In addition, we describe the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the rates for Medicare acute care hospital inpatient services for operating costs and capital-related costs. We also are setting forth the update to the rate-of-increase limits for certain hospitals excluded from the IPPS that are paid on a reasonable cost basis subject to these limits. We are updating the payment policy and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) and setting forth the changes to the payment rates, factors, and other payment rate policies under the LTCH PPS. In addition, we are finalizing the provisions of the August 27, 2009 interim final rule that implemented statutory provisions relating to payments to LTCHs and LTCH satellite facilities and increases in beds in existing LTCHs and LTCH satellite facilities under the LTCH PPS. We are making changes affecting the: Medicare conditions of participation for hospitals relating to the types of practitioners who may provide rehabilitation services and respiratory care services; and determination of the effective date of provider agreements and supplier approvals under Medicare. We are also setting forth provisions that offer psychiatric hospitals and hospitals with inpatient psychiatric programs increased flexibility in obtaining accreditation to participate in the Medicaid program. Psychiatric hospitals and hospitals with inpatient psychiatric programs will have the choice of undergoing a State survey or of obtaining accreditation from a national accrediting organization whose hospital accreditation program has been approved by CMS. We are also issuing an interim final rule with comment period to implement a provision of the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 relating to Medicare payments for outpatient services provided prior to a Medicare beneficiary's inpatient admission.

Peer group mentoring of junior faculty

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this article is to document and evaluate the initiation of a mentoring model for junior faculty utilizing a peer group approach rather than the traditional dyadic model.

METHODS

Junior faculty members in an academic department of psychiatry at Sunnybrook Hospital, University of Toronto, were invited to take part in a peer mentoring program involving evening meetings every 2 months over a 1-year period from 2004-2005. Of the 12 invitees, 10 agreed to participate in the program. The group participants developed the program agenda collectively. Learning objectives as well as a list of topics of interest were established at the inaugural meeting. A focus group was held at the end of 12 months to provide a descriptive, qualitative evaluation. The focus group leader prepared a report based on observations and notes taken during the focus group.

RESULTS

The report prepared by the focus group leader identified six main themes that included: program development, knowledge gains, interpersonal gains, psychological/emotional gains, process of the program, and future directions. The overall response was clearly favorable with a unanimous decision to maintain the group and continue meeting into the next year.

CONCLUSION

A peer group mentoring format for junior faculty in an academic department of psychiatry can be an effective model of mentoring.

[Compulsive treatment in a psychiatry--an economic evaluation of participation in the Breakthrough model]

BACKGROUND

By use of the Breakthrough Series Collaborative a national quality project was launched in Denmark in 2004. The purpose was to improve the quality of compulsive treatment. Due to participation in the project the psychiatric ward at Herning Hospital reduced the frequency and duration of compulsive treatment significantly compared to 2003. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in costs per discharged patient and bed-day before and after the intervention. To illustrate quality improvements beyond the purpose of the national project the consumption of antipsychotics was included in the evaluation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Specification of working hours per discharged patient and bed-day and an average hourly rate for a nurse provide the basis for the valuation. The cost of antipsychotics is based on an average daily use per discharged patient and bed-day. The monetary unit is Danish Kroner.

RESULTS

The wage costs per discharged patient were 18,487 before and 19,010 after the intervention. Per bed-day the costs were 2,642 and 2,679, respectively. Medicine costs per discharged patient were 198 before and 148 after the intervention while the costs per bed-day were 28 and 21, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This evaluation of costs shows that it is possible to develop and implement quality improvements without increasing costs. A decrease in medicine costs indicates that the effect reaches further than the quality in compulsive treatment.

Hospitalization of patients with eating disorders on adolescent medical units is threatened by current reimbursement systems

Eating disorders are chronic, life-threatening medical conditions that are the third most common chronic illness in adolescent females in the US. Although successful treatment of eating disorders on medical units has occurred for at least thirty years, some insurance companies refuse payment for such care.

OBJECTIVE

To describe outcomes of and reimbursement for treatment of patients with eating disorders (ED) on an adolescent medical unit.

STUDY GROUP

39 participants, mean age 16.1 +/- 1.9 years, with anorexia nervosa (AN) or eating disorder not-otherwise-specified, subtype AN (EDNOS) admitted to an inpatient adolescent medical unit at a large, urban teaching hospital.

METHODS

Using a retrospective, cohort study design, medical records were reviewed for outcomes at hospital discharge for patients admitted between 2001-2003. Data on hospital and professional charges and payments from medical insurers were collected. Results showed that admission percent estimated ideal body weight was lower in AN vs. EDNOS participants. Controlling for admission weight, length of stay and daily weight gain were independent of the diagnosis of AN vs. EDNOS. Mean length of stay was 51 days. 37/39 patients completed their stay. Insurance companies reimbursed 62% of charges.

CONCLUSION

Other than admission weight, there were no significant clinical differences between AN and EDNOS participants. 95% responded favorably to interdisciplinary treatment. Length of stay could be reduced with earlier admission of malnourished patients. In spite of effective services, reimbursement by insurance companies remains inadequate for patients with ED hospitalized on medical units.

Economic grand rounds: Variation in staffing and activities in psychiatric inpatient units

In 1999 the Balanced Budget Refinement Act mandated the development of a per diem prospective payment for all psychiatric inpatients. To assist Medicare in developing a per diem patient-based payment system, this study surveyed a representative sample of psychiatric inpatient units in 40 facilities for one week in 2001 through 2003 to determine how units are staffed and how staff members spend their time caring for patients. On general adult units, psychiatric staff averaged ten hours per patient per 24-hour day, roughly 55 percent of staff time was involved in psychiatric care, medical-related nursing and personal care accounted for 10 percent of staff time, and milieu time took up 34 percent of staff time. Small general adult and geriatric units required 50 percent more staff time per patient than large units. More research is needed to determine how recent changes in the method of payment affect these facilities.

[The work of medical doctors on psychiatric wards: an analysis of everyday activities]

In Germany, the economic situation of psychiatric hospitals has markedly changed during the last years. Whilst the number of patients has steadily increased, many clinics considerably reduced the number of therapeutic staff due to an increasing lack of financial support. The German psychiatry personnel regulations act defines the number of therapeutic staff required for an adequate psychiatric treatment, but the requirements of this regulations act nowadays are widely missed in most of the German psychiatric hospitals. This severely affects the therapeutic work on psychiatric wards. This study analyses tasks and activities of medical doctors on psychiatric wards and compares the hours spent with various types of activities with the amount of time that should be spent according to the personnel regulations act. Results show that doctors spend much more time with documentation and administrative work than originally intended by the personnel regulations act. They compensate this mainly by a reduction of time spent in direct contact with the patients. In this context, the number of psychotherapy sessions as well as sessions with the patients' relatives has been considerably reduced, whereas the time spent for emergency intervention and basic treatment still corresponds to the calculations according to the personnel regulations act. All in all, the results show that a reduction of therapeutic staff in psychiatric hospitals directly leads to a change in treatment settings with a focus on less individual treatment options.

Data collection in consultation-liaison psychiatry: an evaluation of Casemix

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the usefulness of Casemix as a data collection system for consultation-liaison psychiatry services.

METHOD

Health information staff were requested to code psychiatric assessments and diagnosis prospectively for admissions to the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, between July 2002 and June 2004 using Casemix.

RESULTS

Psychiatric assessments were requested on 2.5% of all hospital admissions (n = 2575). Casemix provided extensive demographic and hospital unit data for referred patients, is easy to set up, and is cost-free for the psychiatry service.

CONCLUSIONS

Casemix can provide extensive meaningful data for consultation-liaison psychiatry services that could assist in the argument for greater funding of these services.

[Could the day hospital wards be a possibility of reducing treatment costs in psychiatry?]

The aim of the article is a presentation of the possible manner in which cost reduction of psychiatric treatment could be achieved by introducing a day hospital system. Based on literature, a similar improvement in clinical and social outcome between both partial and full hospitalization was shown. The comparison of costs in the studied models of treatment demonstrated a probable level of savings assessed at 20-30% for the day treatment. The presented data obtained from the epidemiologic registry of Lower Silesian district showed a significant increase of hospital admissions of mostly non-psychotic patients--the most cost-saving group of mental dysfunctions while treated in a day hospital. As the cited articles concerned, studies conducted in other countries where the economic environment differs from the Polish one--there is a need of cost comparison between day hospital and inpatient treatment in the country.

[Direct costs of acute day hospital care: results from a randomized controlled trial]

OBJECTIVE

So far only five randomized controlled trials on acute day hospital care have assessed direct health care costs and compared these with costs of conventional inpatient treatment. This paper aims to close this research gap for German speaking countries.

METHOD

Another trial was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Dresden University of Technology. Using the Client Service Receipt Inventory interviews with patients at three time-points (admission, discharge, three months after discharge) assessed their utilization of health care services. Based on the results of a separate regional cost-calculation project, costs of individual care packages could be calculated. 144 patients (day care: n = 75, inpatient care: n = 69) with complete data sets for all time-points of assessment were included in the intention-to-treat-analysis. Means of direct costs (given in Euro and referred to Deutsche Mark prices in 2000) were computed, and t-tests and bootstrap-procedures were used for group comparison. Furthermore, missing and sensitivity analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Patients in the acute day hospital caused mean direct health care costs of 12 401 per person within the entire period assessed. Thus, their cost level falls below the mean costs of inpatient care (15,924 euro per person) by 22.1 %. Missing analyses showed no selection effects on cost results caused by patients who could not be assessed at all defined time-points. Costs for inpatient and day care services were the most sensitive parameters for maintaining the statistically significant differences of cost means demonstrated between the two study groups.

CONCLUSION

For German-speaking countries, this study shows for the first time that acute day care -- which has been demonstrated to be clinically at least as effective as inpatient care - is the less expensive option if these two settings are comparatively assessed.

Factors contributing to frequent use of psychiatric inpatient services by schizophrenia patients

BACKGROUND

Although present findings about frequent users of psychiatric inpatient services vary from study to study, some potentially important predictors of frequent use were extracted. The purpose of this study was to examine the potentially contributory factors of frequent use of psychiatric inpatient services by schizophrenia patients and to test the influence single factors have in an overall model.

METHODS

A total of 307 schizophrenia patients were interviewed five times with intervals of 6 months. Data were collected about service receipt and health care costs, strength of primary diagnosis and comorbidities, as well as about patients' needs for care and satisfaction with care. Patients with three or more psychiatric admissions within a 30-month period were defined as frequent users.

RESULTS

According to this criterion, 12% of the study population were frequent users. Compared with ordinary users, these patients accounted for significantly higher costs in hospital- and community-based care. Important predictors for frequent use of psychiatric inpatient services were the number of previous hospitalizations and current scores of psychopathology. In addition, a longitudinal analysis showed the importance of social factors for the use of psychiatric inpatient care. Therefore, a number of the frequent users' multiple admissions could also be caused by social problems.

CONCLUSIONS

The mental health system should, thus, provide well-directed community-based resources, which give frequent users support to solve their social problems.

Length of stay and antipsychotic treatment costs of patients with acute psychosis admitted to hospital in Spain. Description and associated factors. The Psychosp study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to describe the length of stay, cost of drug treatment, diagnostic tests and other therapeutic measures in acute psychotic patients admitted to acute in-patient psychiatric units and to analyse the factors associated with these.

METHODS

A retrospective review was made of medical records of 200 patients admitted for acute psychosis in eight Spanish hospitals. Information was collected concerning the length of stay, cost of drug treatment and diagnostic tests; bivariate and multivariate analysis was made of factors associated with length of stay and cost of antipsychotic drug treatment.

RESULTS

The average admission cost ranged between 2,830.29 and 3,624.95 euros, with a wide variability among hospitals. Of this cost, 94.3% corresponded to fixed costs, 3.4% to diagnostic tests and 2.4% to drug treatment (84.2% of this latter cost corresponded to antipsychotic drugs). Age younger than 25 years and a diagnosis of schizophrenia were associated with longer hospital stays; longer length of stay, the presence of aggressiveness/agitation, a diagnosis of schizophrenia, age younger than 25 years and the use of atypical antipsychotics were associated with higher costs in antipsychotic drug treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

The hospital admission cost of an acute psychotic episode is mostly dependent on the structural costs derived from in-patient treatment. The differences in costs seem to be related to the different length of stay schemes used by the various hospitals rather than to the clinical characteristics of patients or the drugs used.

Psychiatric service utilization and cost for persons with schizophrenia in a medicaid managed care program

A pre-post study design was used to look at changes in behavioral health care services and costs for Medicaid-eligible individuals with schizophrenia in a managed care (MC) carve-out compared to a fee-for-service (FFS) program in Pennsylvania between 1995 and 1998. Statistically significant reductions of 59% were found in hospital expenditures in the MC program compared to 18.3% in the FFS program. The decline in hospital costs was due to dramatic fee reductions in the MC site. No significant differences in overall ambulatory utilization were found in either program; however, ambulatory expenditures rose 57% in the MC program versus a decline of 11% in fee for service. The ambulatory cost increase resulted from a cost shift between county block grant funds, and Medicaid funds, with no additional revenues provided to outpatient providers. Study implications are that cost reductions from MC are mainly due to reducing utilization and payments to hospitals, similar to the findings for private sector programs.

Current status of general hospital psychiatry in Japan

The current status of general hospital psychiatry was overviewed to clarify the progress and the stagnation. To facilitate well-organized community psychiatric care, general hospital psychiatry should play a central role in psychiatry. The policy makers of the Japanese mental health system should place a special emphasis on general hospital psychiatric beds to further process of shifting from a hospital based to a community based psychiatry system. It is also necessary that general hospital psychiatry should become more aggressively involved in community psychiatry, e.g. emergency psychiatry. Consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry has been quickly developed and become one of the main psychiatric fields. For further development, a multidisciplinary team approach with co-medical staffs is necessary to supply efficient and effective care to medically ill patients. A proactive model of C-L care rather than a doctors' needs model should also be considered. Well designed research evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of C-L activities in medical settings needs to be done to increase funding to general hospital psychiatry. This research evidence would also lead to a more fully integrated general hospital psychiatry into the practice of medicine and catch up with the ongoing medical reform in Japan.

Design Of Mental Health Benefits: Still Unequal After All These Years

This paper examines recent trends in the design and organization of coverage for mental health care using data from a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust (KFF/HRET) national employer survey. Legislation and changes in the delivery of mental health services have altered how mental health insurance is bought and sold. However, our findings reveal that mental health coverage is still typically not offered at a level equivalent to coverage for other medical conditions. We attempt to synthesize these data with prior research as a foundation for informed debates.

Developing A Medicare Prospective Payment System For Inpatient Psychiatric Care

Under the Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) of 1999, the secretary of health and human services was mandated to implement a prospective payment system (PPS) for psychiatric inpatient facilities that were exempt from the Medicare inpatient PPS. This paper reviews the reason for the initial "distinct-part" exemption, describes research that has been conducted to inform the development of a psychiatric inpatient PPS, and examines some of the issues that must be addressed as a PPS is designed. In addition, some changes in the overall inpatient psychiatric hospital sector are discussed.

The ‘Quiet’ Crisis In Mental Health Services

The failure of insurers and managed care organizations to reimburse providers of mental health services for the costs of care has led to a crisis in access to these services. Using the situation in Massachusetts as a case example, this paper explores the impact of this defunding. Unable to sustain continued losses, hospitals are closing psychiatric units, and outpatient services are contracting or closing altogether. The situation has been compounded by the withdrawal of many practitioners from managed care networks and cuts in public-sector mental health services. Unless purchasers demand effective coverage of mental health treatment, mental health services will likely continue to wither away.

In welchen Krankenhausabteilungen werden psychisch Kranke behandelt? Eine Analyse der Krankenhausfälle der DAK im Vorfeld der DRGs

STUDY OBJECTIVE

As from 2004, a diagnosis-related group financing system will be introduced in all somatic departments and wards in Germany. In future, only psychiatric and psychosomatic departments will continue the system of patient-related per capita budgeting. In view of this fact, it is necessary to determine which hospital wards or departments admit mentally ill patients, as the funding--and hence the therapeutic options available--will vary fundamentally between psychiatric and somatic departments.

METHOD

An evaluation was made of more than 1,000,000 hospitalised patients on the books of the country's second largest medical insurance organization, the DAK, in the year 2001. Of these cases, almost 68,000 were in the diagnostic category F (psychiatric diagnoses) ICD-10.

FINDINGS

Some 32.4 % of cases where the main diagnosis upon dismissal was psychiatric were admitted to somatic wards, most of them (19.3 % of the total) to internal medicine wards. A comparison between the different Federal States of Germany showed that the practice of admitting a substantial proportion of psychiatric diagnoses to somatic wards was not a merely regional problem, but widespread throughout the country. A disproportionately large number of those in somatic wards, mainly internal medicine wards, were in the diagnostic categories F13 (medication dependency), F10 (alcohol-related), F0-09 (cerebral organic disorders) and F40-48 (neurotic disorders). As a rule, the duration of hospital stay on somatic wards was less than half as long as on psychiatric wards. Two thirds of the internal medicine departments that dismissed patients with psychiatric diagnoses were in general hospitals that did not have their own psychiatric department. On the internal medicine wards the second most common diagnostic group in the age group 16-64 years, after ischaemic heart disease (I25), was alcohol-related disorders (F10).

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of these findings one could expect to find "mixed funding" of specific types of psychiatric diagnosis upon the introduction of the German budgeting practice system, although as a rule this will probably apply mainly to internal medicine departments with psychiatric budgets. As this system encourages shorter periods of hospitalization it seems likely that some of these patients will be transferred to psychiatric/psychosomatic wards after just a few days. However, it appears unlikely that there will be a corresponding increase in the number of psychiatric beds. For this reason, it is important that provision be made to accommodate psychiatric cases elsewhere, preferably in somatic, mainly internal medicine, wards. This expansion of capacity should also include the extension of activities carried out by the psychiatric/psychosomatic counselling and liaison services, as well as the introduction of short crisis intervention techniques and the so-called qualified detoxification of alcohol-abuse patients on internal medicine wards. As the present system offers no incentive to general hospitals to take such measures we can expect demand for beds in psychiatric/psychosomatic hospitals to increase. Furthermore, it is probable that there will also be an increase in the number of re-admissions of such patients, especially alcoholics, to somatic wards.

Expansion of the consultation-liaison psychiatry paradigm at a university medical center: integration of diversified clinical and funding models

The perspective of the contemporary Consultation-Liason Service (CLS) psychiatrist is increasingly one of consultant to medical and surgical colleagues in models other than inpatient medical and surgical units. Simultaneously, the need for a clinically and educationally robust inpatient CLS persists despite funding pressures. The University of California, Davis Medical Center Department of Psychiatry has made use of creative organizational and financial models to accomplish the inpatient CLS clinical and educational missions in a fiscally responsible manner. In addition, the department has in recent years expanded the delivery of psychiatry consultation-liaison clinical and educational services to other models of care delivery, broadening the role and influence of the CLS. Several of the initiatives described in this paper parallel an overall evolution of the practice of consultation-liaison psychiatry in response to managed care influences and other systems pressures. This consultation-liaison paradigm expansion with diversified sources of funding support facilitates the development of consultation-liaison psychiatry along additional clinical, administrative, research, and educational dimensions. Other university medical centers may consider adaptation of some of the initiatives described here to their institutions.

Managed care, networks and trends in hospital care for mental health and substance abuse treatment in Massachusetts: 1994-1999

BACKGROUND

Rates of inpatient care for mental health and substance abuse treatment have been reported to fall after the introduction of managed care, but the actual decline may be overstated. Almost all managed care impact studies are based on pre-post comparisons, which have two drawbacks: secular downward trends may be attributed to a managed care effect and self-selection may exaggerate the impact of managed care. Therefore it is useful to examine long-term population-based trends in use associated with the growth of managed care.

AIMS OF STUDY

This paper examines trends in inpatient care for mental health and substance abuse treatment in Massachusetts between 1994 and 1999 by service provider and payer. We analyze how managed care impacts the trends in mental health and substance abuse care.

METHODS

We provide an overview of the health market in Massachusetts and compare trends in mental health and substance abuse services with all inpatient services. To analyze the impact of managed care, we compare the per discharge cost of managed care and fee for service plans in Medicare and Medicaid. Finally, we examine the role played by hospital networks in managed care.

RESULTS

The reduction in service costs for mental health and substance abuse, about 25% in six years, is mostly due to the decline in the average cost per inpatient episode. This is only slightly greater than the decline in costs for all inpatient care. Managed care has reduced both the quantity (average length of stay) and intensity of health care (expenditure per day). Simulations suggest that the creation of hospital networks by managed care accounts for around 50% of the differential between the average costs of the HMO and FFS sectors.

DISCUSSION

We find that the cost reductions in mental health and substance abuse services are larger than for physical health, but not by much. The average length of stay and average day cost is lower for managed care plans than for FFS plans, and much of this difference is attributable to the hospitals managed care plans select to participate in their networks. The data are limited to inpatient discharges from Massachusetts and therefore our conclusions may not be readily extended to other places. Furthermore, our analysis is based on the estimated cost rather than the actual payments to hospitals. IMPLICATION FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE: The analysis highlights the importance of hospital selection and networks in affecting the cost of care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICIES

Contrary to popular belief, the analysis shows that the experience of mental health and substance abuse and non-mental health and substance abuse services is similar. Creation of networks is an important strategy in managed care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

This paper provides the groundwork for extending the analysis to areas with market characteristics different to those of Massachusetts. Further research should focus on the long-term trends in health outcomes between managed care and fee for service patients.

[Psychiatric consultation-liaison in Sweden surveyed: A patchwork of reimbursement schemes, organizational structures and levels of ambition]

In order to make a survey of consultation-liaison (c-l) psychiatric activity a questionnaire was distributed to all psychiatric departments in Sweden. Questions were asked concerning organization, reimbursement and indicators of the quality level of services. 42 of 72 possible responders returned the questionnaire (58%). The department-affiliated services work with few exceptions at a basic level of consultation, and existing liaison activities seldom have any organizational connection to the psychiatric departments. There is no commonly accepted organizational model and the use of professional categories other than psychiatrists is rare. Five psychiatric departments have special c-l units and research is pursued almost exclusively at these. A majority of respondents express a need for expansion. So far, the services have been working at a level of gentlemen's agreement between clinics, but a number of compensatory schemes are under way.

[Specific behaviour therapy day clinic]

Psychiatric day care has a long tradition. However, psychotherapeutic day care institutions specialising in particular disorders or certain therapeutic approaches are still the exception. A day care unit for behaviour therapy was established at the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf in 1998 as part of a complex inpatient, day care, and outpatient behaviour therapy unit. The immediate and high acceptance by patients and their doctors indicates a strong need of such a treatment setting. We present how this day care unit works and how it differs from the traditional psychiatric day care.

[The reform of psychiatric care in Poland--2001]

Both positive and negative effects of the reform of the health care financing system are noted. Low prices offered by Sickness Funds for particular services (a bed-day, a visit) should be regarded as a negative effect of the reform. Particularly insufficient were the prices of services in some specialised psychiatric wards and in outpatient clinics. Prices in many community-based psychiatric facilities were also considerably underestimated. Undoubtedly, the reform has led to positive changes in the organization of inpatient care. These changes include: further reduction of beds in large hospitals organisational structure as well as a marked increase in the number of psychiatric wards at general hospitals, which should be the key units of psychiatric inpatient care. Increase in the number of day hospitals is another positive effect of the reform. The programme of psychiatric care transformation is presented mostly in the Mental Health Programme. The main goal of this programme is to ensure appropriate care for the mentally disordered people, namely comprehensive and accessible health care as well as other forms of help and and support necessary for living in family and in society. This goal will be accomplished by health care and other forms of help mentioned in the Mental Health Act and in the Social Help Act. Community-based model of psychiatric care is the key element of this system. Also, the Programme states desired accessibility rates for staff, number of beds and number of particular forms of psychiatric and alcohol treatment care. Separate rates for adult and children/youth population have been elaborated.

Does prospective payment reduce inpatient length of stay?

A change in payment mechanism for inpatient care from per diem to per episode creates two incentives - a marginal and an average price effect - to change length of stay. The decrease in marginal price per day to zero should reduce the length of stay, while an increase in average price per inpatient stay should increase the length of stay. This study uses data from a natural experiment to estimate both marginal and average price elasticities, and to test whether the length of stay falls after the introduction of prospective payment in a sample of 8509 severely mentally ill patients. We estimate that the marginal price elasticity is zero, but the average price elasticity is between 0.16 and 0.20. The results were generally robust for short- and long stayers, and for persons admitted early and late after the change in payment mechanism. The model controlled for hospital fixed effects and individual random effects.

The use of mental health care facilities after stroke. A cost analysis

OBJECTIVES

Although psychiatric comorbidity is relevant for a number of diseases, it is often ignored in technology assessment. This study examines the service use rate in mental healthcare facilities and related costs for stroke patients discharged from the University Hospital Maastricht between 1987 and 1995.

METHODS

Through anonymous record linkage, the medical registration of the hospital and the registration of the Maastricht Mental Health Care Register were linked.

RESULTS

Linkage succeeded for 16% of the 2,020 stroke patients, indicating that these patients used mental health services during a 10-year period around the stroke (+/- 5 years). Of the users' group, 88% had a mental healthcare contact following stroke. Regression analysis shows that age, length of hospital stay, and mental healthcare contact before stroke are associated with mental healthcare use after stroke. It is remarkable in that there is already an increase in the consumption of mental health care in the prodromal phase just before the stroke occurred. When comparing costs before and after stroke, the outpatient costs increased on average by [symbol: see text] 42.64, semi-institutionalized costs increased on average by [symbol: see text] 208.10, and intramural costs by [symbol: see text] 1,189.21. The total increase in costs is [symbol: see text] 1,439.95. For all mental healthcare facilities, the increase in costs is significant.

CONCLUSIONS

No study so far has revealed the total costs of mental healthcare facilities following stroke. Extrapolating these costs to the Netherlands illustrates that stroke patients have a high psychiatric comorbidity, inducing about 1.3% of total mental healthcare costs.