title: Trends in acute psychiatric inpatient care in Massachusetts.
abstract: This report presents the preliminary results of a longitudinal study of acute psychiatric hospitalization in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for fiscal years 1994 to 2000. The study was a secondary analysis of data obtained through the Commonwealth's mandated case-mix reporting system, covering 42 acute psychiatric facilities and 119,284 patients. Results include a 58.4 percent increase in the patient population, accompanied by declines in both length of stay and readmission rates; increases in the number of diagnoses of depression and in the number of patient deaths; and shifts to an older population increasingly supported by Medicaid and Medicare, especially managed care programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Hudson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality / Q000639:trends; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000639:trends; D008404:Massachusetts; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006278:Medicare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000639:trends*; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000639:trends