TY - JOUR
T1 - Letter from America
T2 - Acute in-patient psychiatry bed shortages
AU - Sharfstein, Steven S.
PY - 2009/11
Y1 - 2009/11
N2 - The number of in-patient beds for psychiatric treatment in America has declined dramatically over the past 40 years. Public and private policies have encouraged an extremely short-term, crisis-stabilisation model of treatment. This is true on both general and subspecialty units. As a result, readmissions have increased, emergency rooms are crowded, and many patients end up homeless or incarcerated in the criminal justice system. These changes have created a public health crisis in America, and are the greatest challenges that American psychiatry faces today.
AB - The number of in-patient beds for psychiatric treatment in America has declined dramatically over the past 40 years. Public and private policies have encouraged an extremely short-term, crisis-stabilisation model of treatment. This is true on both general and subspecialty units. As a result, readmissions have increased, emergency rooms are crowded, and many patients end up homeless or incarcerated in the criminal justice system. These changes have created a public health crisis in America, and are the greatest challenges that American psychiatry faces today.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77949450128&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77949450128&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1192/apt.bp.109.006957
DO - 10.1192/apt.bp.109.006957
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:77949450128
SN - 1355-5146
VL - 15
SP - 402
EP - 403
JO - Advances in Psychiatric Treatment
JF - Advances in Psychiatric Treatment
IS - 6
ER -