Predicting Specialty Psychiatric Inpatient Care in General Hospitals: Agreement Between Two Independent Methods

In a follow up to previous work ( Kiesler, Simpkins, & Morton, 1989 ), we predicted where in a general hospital a psychiatric patient would be treated: psychiatric unit, chemical dependency unit, or scatter bed. Independent a priori clinical assumptions and multiple-discriminant function predictions were compared for 5,033 patients receiving psychiatric inpatient treatment in general hospitals with specialized units in the 1980 Hospital Discharge Survey. Three a priori assumptions were specific to mental disorders and 3 were specific to alcohol and drug abuse. This study finds substantially enhanced agreement on predictions for site of treatment for mental disorders: 99% (vs. 72% reported previously). Agreement for chemical dependency treatment was less (86%). The imputed sample for treatment in psychiatric units fits well with an independent sample conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health.