PSYCHIATRIC CARE: Rethinking the asylum

There has been a large shift in inpatient psychiatric care over the past century — from a large supply of long-term inpatient psychiatric beds in big state hospitals to a significant deinstitutionalization movement.  The movement to discharge patients from big psychiatric hospitals has resulted in seriously mentally ill patients ending up on the street or in prison.  The authors, affiliated with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, argue that it is time to rethink the value of asylums — of long-term institutional care in modern facilities.  An example that they give is Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital (Worcester, Mass., 320 private rooms).

Source: Sisti, D.A., Segal, A.G., and Emanuel, E.J. (2015, Jan. 20). Improving long-term psychiatric care: bring back the asylum. JAMA, 313(3), 243-244.  Click here for access to this article:  http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2091312  Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org