title: Social organization of length of stay of psychiatric patients.
abstract: 1. Length of stay (LOS) is the major factor determining the use of resources in hospitals and is the primary component in reducing hospital costs. However, relatively little is known about the anatomy of the hospital stay. 2. The stage model of treatment is used to examine the LOS of psychiatric patients. The model assumes the patient is admitted to the hospital, undergoes testing or observation to verify a diagnosis or establish a new diagnosis, and then proceeds to therapy, recovery, and discharge. 3. In practice, the treatment process does not follow a stage model, but is much more complicated. Various kinds of information are revealed throughout the course of hospitalization and treatment continues as events unfold. Diagnosis, therapy, and recovery occur in a dialectical process constantly being reconstructed as it is informed by interpretations of everyday events.
authors.affiliation: Gainesville VA Medical Center, Florida.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rittman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003142:Communication; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D017146:Models, Organizational; D008960:Models, Psychological; D017008:Negotiating; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012938:Social Perception