Outcome of irregularly discharged psychiatric patients.
Clinicians' attitudes about the posthospitalization outcome of patients who are irregularly discharged from the hospital (i.e., against medical advice or AWOL) have been pessimistic, but unsystematic follow-up data of such patients compared with regularly discharged patients suggest that outcomes for the two groups are similar. Because of this discrepancy, the authors used data from a controlled, systematic study of a large sample of voluntary inpatients that measured global outcome over 2 years. Their findings suggest that 1 year and 2 years after admission, most patients who were irregularly discharged had outcomes similar to those of patients with regular discharges. There was, however, a subgroup of irregularly discharged patients who had worse outcomes.
D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology