Finding medical reasons for psychiatric behavior.

Medical disease was the cause of the primary disability in the majority (61.2 percent) of 116 elderly psychiatric patients treated at Bellevue Hospital Center. A change in behavior signaled the onset of medical illness with acute brain syndrome. The history that documented a change in behavior was derived from sources other than the patient. It is important to obtain such history during admission evaluation of elderly persons who are confused or whose memory is impaired. Multidiciplinary services enabled many patients to improve so that they could return home rather than being institutionalized. Had such services been available before their admission, many patients might have avoided hospitalization. As a result of this study, the geriatrics unit at Bellevue Hospital Center began to devote its efforts to elderly persons in the community.