Am J Psychiatry 1978; 135:479-482
Copyright © 1978 by American Psychiatric Association
ECT in metropolitan New York hospitals: a survey of practice, 1975-1976
GM Asnis, M Fink and S Saferstein
Of New York psychiatric facilities surveyed, 83% used ECT. Five percent of
patients in university and private nonprofit hospitals, less than 1% in
public hospitals, and 21% in private for-profit hospitals received ECT.
Practices and procedures were remarkably uniform, except that less than 17%
of units used unilateral ECT. Training programs were minimal and unplanned.
Differences in incidence of use result from staff training, public
antipathy, and economic factors.
