Involuntary Patient Flow

Abstract

A computer program was written which modeled the stages through which involuntarily admitted psychiatric patients passed following commitment. Using empirically derived base rates the program was run to determine the impact on a psychiatric ward of (a) different proportions of voluntary and involuntary admissions to the ward and (b) different rates of noncommitments resulting from the court commitment hearing, on (1) average length of stay on the ward, (2) proportion of ward bed utilization and (3) average numbers of patients on the ward in different status categories. Results show that none of these indices are substantially affected by normal variations in the input rates. The utility of computer simulation for local agency evaluation is examined. Although a small number of simulation studies will probably continue to be done at local levels by interested investigators, the major use is more likely to be at state and federal levels where resources exist to develop projects of scope and complexity appropriate to the technique, although the possibility also exists for the development of general-purpose software for the local agency level.