Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:429-431
Copyright © 1996 by American Psychiatric Association
Physician caseloads at public mental hospitals
AL Pelonero, RL Elliott, JW Barber and A Best
Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia-Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0710, USA.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to gather baseline data on
physician caseloads, particularly psychiatric caseloads, at public mental
hospitals. METHOD: A 26-item survey was sent to medical directors of public
mental hospitals in the United States and its territories. Questions
focused on hospital demographics, programs, and medical staffing. Survey
data were analyzed and descriptive statistics were determined. RESULTS: Of
295 surveys mailed, 195 (66%) usable surveys were returned. The hospitals
had a mean bed capacity of 347 (SD=301, range=10-1,926), a mean current
patient population of 321 (SD=277, range=7-1,815), and 950 mean annual
admissions (SD=891, range=3-5,100). Acute care was the most common
treatment program (81%), followed by long-term care (71%). A wide range of
psychiatric caseloads by type of program existed, with approximately equal
mean and median amounts. CONCLUSIONS: The caseloads reported were, overall,
reasonable and expected by the type of treatment program. The range of
caseloads, however, included extremely high outliers that raise concerns
about the quality of care delivered.
