Psychiatric inpatient length of stay. An overview of methods, influences and consequences

Abstract

Duration of inpatient psychiatric treatment is considerably under discussion between hospitals and payers. This article aims at reviewing the scientific evidence on the topic of psychiatric inpatient duration of stay. Two general research questions can be identified from the literature: 1. Which factors do influence duration of stay? 2. Which consequences does duration of psychiatric treatment have on patients' health status? Results show that duration of stay is less influenced by psychiatric diagnosis and sociodemographic items but more by the process of treatment and by organizational characteristics of the institutions. More recent studies generally find positive effects of longer treatment episodes. Studies about the consequences of duration of stay show a relation between reductions in duration of treatment and increasing readmissions. It is concluded that reductions in duration of inpatient treatment must be carefully evaluated to prevent negative consequences for patients' health status.