A Study of Referral Failures for Potentially Suicidal Patients: A Method of Medical Care Evaluation
Abstract
To learn more about the methodological problems inherent in medical care evaluation studies, a quality assurance committee conducted a study of rates of referral failure for potentially suicidal patients seen in the psychiatry division of a university hospital's emergency room. A simple 5-point scale was used to identify for study a similarly ill patient group: 296 patients with moderately to extremely severe suicide potential. The rates of referral failure for the emergency room's psychiatry division were 24 per cent for referrals within the university hospital system and 33 per cent outside the system, which compared favorably with other facilities. Outlier analysis—a statistical procedure that holds promise for medical care evaluation studies—was used to identify clinicians whose rates of referral failure differed significantly from their peers' rates. As a result, an instance of substandard performance was identified and corrected through the transfer of information about exceptionally good performance.
Access content
To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.- Personal login
- Institutional Login
- Sign in via OpenAthens
- Register for access
-
Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability.
Not a subscriber?
PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.
Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).
