Affiliation:
1. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Hanover New Hampshire USA
2. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Mental Health Services Concord New Hampshire USA
Abstract
AbstractAimYoung adults with serious mental illness (SMI) have poor physical health and high Emergency Department (ED) and hospital utilization. Integrating primary care into community mental health care may be an important form of early intervention.MethodsAdjusted multivariable regressions assessed changes in self‐reported annual primary care, ED and hospital utilization for 83 young adults with SMI enrolled in integrated care.ResultsParticipants' mean annual per person utilization changed significantly as follows: primary care visits, from 1.8 to 3.6, p < .001; medical ED visits, from 1.0 to 0.6, p < .01; psychiatric ED visits from 0.6 to 0.2, p < .001; medical inpatient days, from 1.2 to 0.1, p < .001 and psychiatric inpatient days, from 6.3 to 2.6, p < .001.ConclusionsYoung adults with SMI receiving integrated care increased primary care and reduced ED and inpatient utilization. Future controlled research is warranted to further assess integrated care for young adults with SMI.
Funder
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration