NEWS BRIEFS
A Service of the American Psychiatric Association
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1997
Contact:
Gus Cervini
Telephone: (202) 682-6142
Internet: [email protected]
In the March issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry
PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL READMISSION IN A MANAGED CARE ENVIRONMENT NOT LINKED TO POOR HOSPITAL OUTCOME
(Note: Not for publication or broadcast before March 1, 1997.)
Having to rehospitalize a psychiatric patient within six months doesn't necessarily mean that the quality of care was poor during the first hospital stay, say researchers at Northwestern University Medical School. In a study of 255 patients, they found that readmission was more often due to the patients' inability to care for themselves at home and the lack of family and community support, severe symptoms of their persistent psychiatric illnesses, and the presence of other medical illnesses. The research is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
However, they found that patients who had both a psychiatric illness and a substance use disorder were more likely to be readmitted within six months. In some cases, there are not enough referrals for treatment of the substance use disorder in conjunction with the initial hospital stay; in others, inadequate community-based substance use treatment following discharge led to readmission. The investigators conclude that failure to treat concurrent substance use disorders, and failure to provide adequate community support for discharged psychiatric patients, are penny-wise and pound-foolish and can increase the likelihood of costly readmission. They also conclude that holding hospitals accountable for readmission, as some quality indicator systems do, is not appropriate.
MANAGED CARE CRITERIA CAN RESTRICT PATIENT ACCESS TO ACUTE-CARE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALIZATION (Note: Not for publication or broadcast before March 1, 1997.)
A commonly used guideline for determining when psychiatric patients are ready to be discharged from the hospital may be flawed and harmful to psychiatric patients, say investigators at the Veterans Administration Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The investigators matched the judgment of a panel of expert psychiatrists against this guideline, the "1993 InterQual ISD psychiatric criteria," and found that its use could lead to acutely ill psychiatric patients having their hospitalizations cut short, with patients being denied necessary care. They recommended against further use of the guideline until it is modified and shown to be clinically valid. A second guideline, the "Managed Care Appropriateness Protocol," was found to more closely match the judgments of the expert panel. The authors of the study, published in the March American Journal of Psychiatry, recommended that all such criteria sets undergo comparison review against the judgments of psychiatric experts.
MANAGED CARE AND MENTAL HEALTH
"To get the best care, patients must be informed about their own health needs, must understand the details of their insurance plans, and must be willing to fight for what they deserve," says Harold I. Eist, M.D., President of the American Psychiatric Association. A new APA pamphlet, "Managed Care and Your Mental Health: What You Need to Know About Your Managed Mental Illness Insurance Benefits," covers such issues of importance to patients, including: benefits, choosing a psychiatrist, gatekeepers, confidentiality, quality of care, user friendliness of the benefit plan, open communication, and what to do when you're dissatisfied with the plan offered you or with the services provided.
To obtain a copy, contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, at (202) 682-6142, e-mail: [email protected]. You also may offer this brochure free of charge to your readers/viewers/listeners.
APA's 150 ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 17-22, 1997, IN SAN DIEGO, CA
Psychiatrists, mental health professionals, researchers and educators will convene for the APA's 150th Annual Meeting May 17-22, 1997, in San Diego, CA. The meeting will present the latest findings in psychiatric research into mental illnesses and substance use disorders and include presentations on over 60 topics. Media registration to the Annual Meeting is complimentary. Preliminary programs, housing forms, and registration materials will be available in February. For more information contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, at (202) 682-6142. SEE ENCLOSED REGISTRATION FORM.
DEADLINE FOR 1998 APA MEDIA AWARDS ENTRIES
The deadline for the 1998 media awards entries is July 31, 1997. Entries for the 1998 media awards must have first appeared in print or first aired between August 1, 1996, and July 31, 1997. For more information about the awards and an entry form, contact Erin Murphy, APA Media Assistant, at (202) 682-6324, e-mail: [email protected].
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
-- Unless otherwise noted, contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, for more information, (202) 682-6142, e-mail: [email protected].
--National College Anxiety Disorders Screening Day. NCADSD may be held on campuses on any day during the month of March 1997. Contact Mary Guardino, Director, at (718) 351-1717.
--April 24-30, 1997 -- National TV-Turnoff Week, A project of TV-Free America, recognized by the APA and 44 other organizations. Expected number of participants in 1997's Turnoff: 5 million. For more information, contact TV-Free America at (202) 887-0436, e-mail: [email protected]. The American Psychiatric Association has expert media speakers on the topic of violence and the media. Contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, for referral to these psychiatrists; (202) 682-6142, e-mail: [email protected].
--May 1997 -- National Mental Health Month. Contact Patrick Cody, Director of Media Relations of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), at (703) 838-7528.
--May 7, 1997 -- National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day, a National Mental Health Month event. Contact Mary Guardino, Director, at (718) 351-1717.
--May 17-22, 1997, San Diego, CA -- Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association
--July 31, 1997 -- Deadline for APA 1998 Media Awards entries. Contact Erin Murphy, APA Media Assistant, (202) 682-6324, e-mail: [email protected]. See also: Announcement of 1997 APA Media Awards winners, below.
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For more information on these topics or other areas of interest, or for interviews with sources cited herein (if direct contact information is not already provided above), contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, at (202) 682-6142, e-mail: [email protected]. Journal articles are available in the entirety from the APA Division of Public Affairs.
The text of this news release is available in electronic format to CompuServe subscribers. In CompuServe's Journalism Forum (go jforum), go to the SciNews-MedNews library (section 17), and search for files with the extension ".APA" (e.g. "TIPS0197.APA"). You also are encouraged to visit the "News Stand" area of APA's World Wide Web site at http://www.psych.org.
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society, founded in 1844, whose 42,000 physician members specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional illnesses and substance use disorders. APA objectives include the advancement and improvement of care for persons with mental illnesses through nationwide public information, education, and awareness programs and materials.
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