The transition to outpatient care is insufficiently well organized for 92% of patients discharged from a psychiatric hospital or hospital for psychosomatic medicine. This transition, however, is an essential factor in a patient’s condition becoming stable. Patients’ relatively long hospital stays and thus the possibility of becoming familiar with patients’ home situations would form a sound basis for preparing for discharge.
This also affects patients’ relatives, who in most cases have already had to tackle feelings of helplessness. Children and young people, in particular, would benefit from a smooth transition, as they especially see changes in their mother, their father, and therefore their whole life. It is not enough to refer the family to the Internet to find a family coach or the like. Regular, personal conversations between the family and the team of treating professionals are part of a well-planned transition.
Help in finding outpatient psychotherapy is also part of a good discharge plan.
What a positive move that the authors (1) draw attention to this problem. Hopefully, many hospitals will be driven by this analysis to rethink and make changes.
Footnotes
Conflict of interest statement
The author declares that no conflict of interest exists.
References
- 1.Wiegand HF, Saam J, Marschall U, et al. Challenges in the transition from in-patient to out-patient treatment in depression—an analysis of administrative health care data from a large German health insurer. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2020;117:472–479. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2020.0472. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]