OBJECTIVE: In a rapidly aging society, inappropriately long geropsychiatric inpatient hospitalization is a challenging concern for mental health policy-makers and researchers. This study aimed to investigate patient and institutional factors affecting geropsychiatric inpatient length of stay (LOS), providing an overview of current geropsychiatric health care system in South Korea. METHODS: This retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study analysed nationwide reimbursement claim databases covering the entire elderly population of Korea between January 2005 and June 2006. Given the nested structure of the data, a multivariate multilevel regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: The average LOS was 128 days. Males, patients with schizophrenia, and those enrolled in a National Medical Care Aid program tended to have longer hospital stays. Patient age was negatively related to LOS. Institutional variables related to longer hospitalizations included a psychiatric hospital, a higher number of beds, fewer human resource employees, a higher proportion of male, oldest old, and patients with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that policies targeting geropsychiatric patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, enrolled in National Medical Care Aid programs, and admitted to psychiatric hospitals could reduce LOS. Additionally, the impact of the patient composition of a medical institution on LOS needs to be closely investigated.
OBJECTIVE: In a rapidly aging society, inappropriately long geropsychiatric inpatient hospitalization is a challenging concern for mental health policy-makers and researchers. This study aimed to investigate patient and institutional factors affecting geropsychiatric inpatient length of stay (LOS), providing an overview of current geropsychiatric health care system in South Korea. METHODS: This retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study analysed nationwide reimbursement claim databases covering the entire elderly population of Korea between January 2005 and June 2006. Given the nested structure of the data, a multivariate multilevel regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: The average LOS was 128 days. Males, patients with schizophrenia, and those enrolled in a National Medical Care Aid program tended to have longer hospital stays. Patient age was negatively related to LOS. Institutional variables related to longer hospitalizations included a psychiatric hospital, a higher number of beds, fewer human resource employees, a higher proportion of male, oldest old, and patients with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that policies targeting geropsychiatric patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, enrolled in National Medical Care Aid programs, and admitted to psychiatric hospitals could reduce LOS. Additionally, the impact of the patient composition of a medical institution on LOS needs to be closely investigated.
Authors: Gualberto Ruaño; Bonnie L Szarek; David Villagra; Krystyna Gorowski; Mohan Kocherla; Richard L Seip; John W Goethe; Harold I Schwartz Journal: Biomark Med Date: 2013-06 Impact factor: 2.851
Authors: Seo-Young Lee; Ki-Young Jung; Il Keun Lee; Sang Do Yi; Yong Won Cho; Dong Wook Kim; Seung-Sik Hwang; Sejin Kim Journal: J Korean Med Sci Date: 2012-02-23 Impact factor: 2.153
Authors: Rowena Jacobs; Nils Gutacker; Anne Mason; Maria Goddard; Hugh Gravelle; Tony Kendrick; Simon Gilbody Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2015-09-30 Impact factor: 2.655
Authors: Hallvard Lund-Heimark; Eirik Kjelby; Lars Mehlum; Rolf Gjestad; Geir Selbæk; Rune Andreas Kroken; Erik Johnsen; Ketil Joachim Oedegaard; Liv S Mellesdal Journal: BJPsych Open Date: 2020-06-18