ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2012 October;171(5):577-81

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Correlation between prevention, hospital admissions and the costs of psychiatric care: an analysis of six years of community-based services delivered at a public psychiatric clinic

Cesario V.

Dipartimento di Salute Mentale, ASL 22 Regione Veneto, SPDC, Caprino Veronese, Verona, Italia

Aim. This article describes the community-based services delivered at a public psychiatric clinic. The aim of the study was to investigate whether community-based prevention interventions were effective in reducing the number of acute psychiatric episodes in the local population served by the clinic.
Methods. The study period was 6 years, subdivided into three 2-year phases, during which the number of admissions to public and private psychiatric centers was recorded. It was found that the number of admissions varied in relation to prevention interventions and their delivery in the community. In addition, the overall costs and the costs for psychiatric services were compared phase by phase.
Results. The results reconfirm that psychiatric care models with community-based prevention interventions are more effective than hospital-based models as they reduce the number of acute psychiatric episodes and are less expensive to operate.
Conclusion. This serves as a reminder to public administrations which, in this era of cost consciousness and economic crisis, seek to reduce spending for public health prevention in general and for psychiatric services in particular.