title: Outcome of irregularly discharged psychiatric patients.
abstract: 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.
mesh_terms: 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