Brief versus standard hospitalization: the differential costs.

The authors compared the use of inpatient and day care services, number of readmissions, use of special services, use of drugs, costs to family and community, and differential dollar costs of three treatment approaches--brief hospitalization followed by day care, brief hospitalization followed by outpatient care, and standard hospitalization. They found that, among patients who had families willing to care for them, brief hospitalization followed by either day or outpatient care was less expensive in terms of hospital costs and costs to the family than standard hospitalization.