title: Psychiatric readmissions in a community-based sample of patients with mental disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined whether receipt of outpatient psychiatric services after hospital discharge was associated with reduced risk of readmission.
  
  
  METHODS
  Treatment records from patients admitted to San Diego County psychiatric hospitals over a one-year period were obtained from the San Diego County Behavioral Health Services electronic health record system. A discrete-time proportional hazards model was used to examine the association of receipt of outpatient psychiatric services with readmission within 30 days of discharge from the index hospitalization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 4,663 patients, 16% were readmitted within 30 days. In an adjusted model, receipt of outpatient therapy after discharge was associated with a greater likelihood of being readmitted (hazard ratio=1.36, 95% confidence interval=1.14-1.67), whereas receipt of case management or medication management was not associated with readmission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The differential risk of readmission by service type suggests a need for studies that explore reasons for an increased risk of readmission with certain types of services.
authors.affiliation: The authors are with the Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego. Send correspondence to Dr. Gilmer (e-mail: tgilmer@ucsd.edu ).
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vijayaraghavan
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Messer
authors.forename: Zhun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sarkin
authors.forename: Todd P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Gilmer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*