6.17 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF PEDIATRIC PSYCHIATRY CONSULTATION LIAISON SERVICE AT KENTUCKY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

Objectives: Identify services most frequently utilizing the child psychiatry consultation-liaison service at Kentucky Children's Hospital as well as the reason for consult. Methods: Three hundred nine charts were retrospectively reviewed representing child psychiatry consults over the course of one academic year. These were assessed for demographics, reason for referral, and diagnosis. Results: Forty-nine percent of the 310 children referred were male and 51 percent female. General pediatrics and the hematology/oncology service represented the greatest number of consults. With all specialties taken together, adjustment to illness was cited most often as the reason for consult. Of note, there are significant differences in demographics and consult question when broken down by referring services. Conclusions: In order to effectively address the increasing psychological needs of children experiencing medical illness while also efficiently managing the growing interdisciplinary team surrounding child psychiatry, the current state of services available must be assessed. Previous studies have demonstrated the benefit of timely referrals and consistent utilization of child psychiatry consult-liaison services in other medical centers not only in outcomes for patients, but also in resource management. For these reasons, future studies will address possible factors influencing the likelihood of referral including training, exposure, and general perception of child psychiatry. Future studies will also address the aforementioned differences in consult questions and demographics as well as patterns of referral by physicians.