How the medicare prospective payment system affects psychiatric patients treated in short-term general hospitals.

This study's purpose was to monitor changes in hospital utilization and discharge patterns for a large national sample of Medicare psychiatric patients treated in short-term general hospitals from 1980 through 1987. We compare data on the Medicare sample with trends for psychiatric patients with Blue Cross or private health insurance who were treated in the same hospitals. Study results indicate that treatment patterns changed for the Medicare psychiatric patients. Average length of stay decreased, especially for patients treated in scatterbeds. The proportion of patients discharged to other hospitals increased, and the number of admissions dropped for those patients over age 75.