ABSTRACT
Background: Early discharge from psychiatric inpatient care may pose challenges for the patient's recovery and may incite a rapid return to the hospital. This study identified demographic, clinical, and the continuing of care characteristics associated with rapid readmission into a sample of psychiatric inpatient hospitals.
Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 60,254 discharges from state psychiatric hospitals. Logistic regression explored the relationship between predictors of rapid readmission.
Results: Eight percent of discharges were readmitted to the same hospital within 30 days after discharge. Factors significantly related with rapid readmission included white (odds ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.34), non-Hispanic (1.48, 1.26-1.73), not married (1.53, 1.32-1.76), voluntarily admitted (1.18, 1.05-1.33), with length of stay (LOS) <= 7 days (3.52, 3.04-4.08), or LOS 8-31 days (3.20, 2.79-3.66), or LOS 32-92 days (1.91, 1.65-2.22), with a schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (1.69, 1.46-1.96) or personality disorder (1.76, 1.50-2.06), referred to a setting different from the outpatient (1.27, 1.16-1.40), or with a living arrangement different from private residence (1.54, 1.40-1.68).
Conclusions: Disparities in rapid readmission rates exist among state psychiatric hospitals. A national overview of the individuals with mental illness at risk of being prematurely discharged may suggests insights into quality initiatives aimed at reducing rapid readmissions into psychiatric inpatient care.