Background: Psychiatric readmissions negatively impact patients and their families while increasing healthcare costs. This study aimed at investigating factors associated with psychiatric readmissions within 30 days and 1 year of the index admissions and exploring the possibilities of monitoring and improving psychiatric care quality in China.
Methods: Data on index admission, subsequent admission(s), clinical and hospital-related factors were extracted in the inpatient medical record database covering 10 secondary and tertiary psychiatric hospitals in Beijing, China. Logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between 30-day and 1-year readmissions plus frequent readmissions (≥3 times/year), and clinical variables as well as hospital characteristics.
Results: The 30-day and 1-year psychiatric readmission rates were 16.69% (1289/7724) and 33.79% (2492/7374) respectively. 746/2492 patients (29.34%) were readmitted 3 times or more within a year (frequent readmissions). Factors significantly associated with the risk of both 30-day and 1-year readmission were residing in an urban area, having medical comorbidities, previous psychiatric admission(s), length of stay > 60 days in the index admission and being treated in tertiary hospitals (p < 0.001). Male patients were more likely to have frequent readmissions (OR 1.30, 95%CI 1.04-1.64). Receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was significantly associated with a lower risk of 30-day readmission (OR 0.72, 95%CI 0.56-0.91) and frequent readmissions (OR 0.60, 95%CI 0.40-0.91).
Conclusion: More than 30% of the psychiatric inpatients were readmitted within 1 year. Urban residents, those with medical comorbidities and previous psychiatric admission(s) or a longer length of stay were more likely to be readmitted, and men are more likely to be frequently readmitted. ECT treatment may reduce the likelihood of 30-day readmission and frequent admissions. Targeted interventions should be designed and piloted to effectively monitor and reduce psychiatric readmissions.
Keywords: China; Comorbidities; Electroconvulsive therapy; Frequent readmissions; Psychiatric hospitals; Psychiatric readmission.