Variables affecting length of psychiatric inpatient treatment.

To discover whether variables such as gender, ethnicity, pay code, and diagnostic category affect length of psychiatric inpatient treatment, patient records for a recent 18-month period (January 1988 to June 1989) in a Midwestern teaching hospital setting were examined and statistically analyzed. Variables that emerged as related to length of stay are ethnicity, Axis I diagnosis of adjustment disorder, and presence of any Axis II diagnosis. Comparisons with length of stay statistics from an earlier period (1981) lead to conclusions about inpatient psychiatric services since the implementation of diagnosis related groups. Further, implications of this study's findings are discussed in relation to mental health service delivery.