Identifying Patients at Risk of Not Receiving Timely Community Mental Health Follow-Up After Psychiatric Hospitalisation Using Linked Routinely Collected Data

Timely receipt of community-based follow-up after inpatient psychiatric discharge is associated with positive outcomes. This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to identify socio-demographic and clinical factors associated with failure to receive community mental health follow-up within 7 days. Routinely collected hospital and community mental health data were linked for all inpatients discharged with a mental health condition in 2017 to 2019 in a local health district in New South Wales, Australia. Of the 8780 patients discharged, 28% (n = 2466) did not have 7-day follow-up. Males were significantly more likely than females to fail follow-up. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed that both male and female patients aged 65 years and older were generally less likely to fail follow-up than those who were younger; conversely, patients referred to a hospital by a law enforcement agency and those who left the hospital at their own risk were more likely to fail follow-up. Other factors significantly related to failure to follow-up varied between the sexes. Improved outcomes may be achieved by enhancing the transition from inpatient to outpatient care through targeted strategies aimed at patients who are more likely to disengage with care.