title: Cost reduction with maintenance ECT in refractory bipolar disorder.
abstract: A case report of outpatient maintenance electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is presented in a patient with bipolar disorder type I refractory to conventional medication treatment but responsive to ECT. A cost comparison is made showing substantial savings when outpatient maintenance ECT is used in lieu of inpatient hospitalization with ECT. A detailed life chart illustrating multiple medication trials that failed to stabilize the patient accompanies the financial summary. This case highlights the advantages of outpatient maintenance ECT for bipolar depression particularly with regard to safety, efficacy, and significant health care cost reduction.
authors.affiliation: UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonds
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Frye
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Coudreaut
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spearing
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Guze
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000191:economics; D012008:Recurrence; D016312:Treatment Refusal