Technique evaluation of foster care in chronic psychiatric disorders.

Foster care received by 178 patients with chronic psychiatric disorders discharged from Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital in the years 1966 through 1969 was studied by technique evaluation. Residents were followed for 3 years by means of health records. The achievement of operational objectives of the program (Homes for Special Care) was compared with two types of outcome--emergency readmission to hospital and discharge to the community. Emergency readmission was associated with rural location of the foster home, inferior quality of the home operator and smaller size (i.e., fewer residents) of the home. Discharge to the community was more common among younger, female residents whose previous psychiatric hospitalization had been relatively brief. In general, prescription audit was not a fruitful way of evaluating quality of health care.