| Abstrakt: |
BACKGROUND: Although several investigators have suggested that the primary care setting has become the "de facto"mental health provider, few researchers have docu mented the psychiatricreferral practices of providers in these settings.OBJECTIVE:In this study, the psychiatricreferral patterns of hospital-based outpatient clinics and the needs and characteristics of the referred patient population were examined.DESIGN: Aftera 4-year retrospective log audit, 2, 678 written referrals were examined for patients 18 years of age and older from a large urban medical center's outpatient clinics to the outpatient psychiatry clinic at the same site.RESULTS:Findings revealed a predominately middle-aged, white, female,Medicaid popu lation referred by physicianproviders in primarycare clinics for signs of depression and associated symptoms.However, of the patientsscheduled in the psychiatryclinic, only 56% actually had visits. Theaverage number of visits was five or less. CONCLUSIONS:Early assessment and triage by advanced practice psychiatricnurses can minimizethe length of time between psychiatricreferral and intervention.By iden tifying those personsin crisis and intervening in a timely fashion, failedappointements may be reduced. U Am PSYCHIATR NURSESAssoc [1995].1, 140-145) |
