title: Predictors of early psychiatric rehospitalization: a national case register study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inconsistent results have been published on variables affecting readmission to psychiatric hospitals, in particular length of hospitalization before discharge. The objective of the present study was to develop a predictive model for 30 days readmission after discharge, as the latter is one of the performance indicators in the pending mental health reform in Israel.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were extracted from the Israeli national psychiatric case register. They concerned all patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals in Israel during a six month period (January 1,-June 30, 2004). A follow-up since the first discharge during this period (discharge from index hospitalization) until November 30, 2005 was performed for each patient. A Cox regression allowed constructing a multi factorial prediction model for readmission within 30 days from discharge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The readmission rate within 30 days was 13 percent. The variables predicting early readmission were age up to 45, history of prior hospitalization, short time between index and prior hospitalization and being discharged from a hospital in the Tel Aviv Center district. Length of hospitalization was not a predictor of early readmission, except for the very short ones (up to eight days) which predicted earlier readmission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The policy of shortening hospitalizations, which potentially could lead to premature discharge,was not found to be associated with early readmission,except for extremely short hospitalizations.
authors.affiliation: The Falk Institute for Mental Health Studies, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Nelly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zilber
authors.forename: Tzipi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hornik-Lurie
authors.forename: Yaacov
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lerner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors