Posted by Phillipa on November 4, 2008, at 0:46:19
Says psych hospitalizations account for longer stays and more admissions to hospitals in a year average stay 8 some odd days and physical symptom diseases have a psychiatic component in many. Do you agree or disagree? Seems to me 8 days can't do that much to help a person stabalize or even see if the meds will work. Short. Phillipa thought it was interesting as the new law affects it.
Mental-Health Hospitalizations Longer, More Common, Than Others
October 31, 2008 In the United States in 2006, more than 20% of all hospital stays were related to mental health, a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows.During that year, 21.3% of hospital stays had either a principal or secondary diagnosis of a mental-health condition. Furthermore, the average length of stay for hospitalizations for mental health was longer than all other stays (8.2 days vs 4.6 days).
Overall, in 2006, there were 8.5 million hospitalizations involving patients with mental illness. Of these, 7.1 million patients had a mental disorder in addition to the physical condition for which they were admitted, and 1.4 million were admitted primarily for a mental illness. Of the admissions for a primary health disorder:
Nearly 730,000 were related to depression or other mood disorders, such as bipolar disease.
381,000 were related to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.131,000 were related to delirium (which can cause agitation or inability to focus attention), dementia, amnesia, and other cognitive problems.
76,000 were related to anxiety and adjustment disorders (stress-related illnesses that can affect feeling, thoughts, and behaviors).
Roughly 34,000 were related to attention-deficit disorder, disruptive behavior, impulse control, personality disorders, or mental disorders usually diagnosed in infancy or later childhood.
Report author Dani K. Saba and colleagues point out that untreated mental illness is more likely to result in hospitalization. They note that the "recent passage of mental-health-parity legislation for private health-insurance coverage should increase access to mental-health care in the United States and help mitigate the far-reaching effects of mental illness on social relationships, employment. and quality of life."
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships
poster:Phillipa
thread:860689
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081027/msgs/860689.html