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November 03, 2008
Report indicates over 20 percent of US hospitalizations in 2006 were related to mental health
Medscape (10/31, Cassels) reported, "In the United States in 2006, more than 20 percent of all hospital stays were related to mental health," according to a new report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
During 2006, "21.3 percent of hospital stays had either a principal or secondary diagnosis of a mental-health condition. Furthermore, the average length of stay for hospitalizations for mental health was longer than all other stays (8.2 days vs. 4.6 days)." Investigators found that "overall, in 2006, there were 8.5 million hospitalizations involving patients with mental illness. Of these, 7.1 million patients had a mental disorder in addition to the physical condition for which they were admitted, and 1.4 million (16%) were admitted primarily for a mental illness."
Posted by admin at November 3, 2008 01:11 PM