[Expansion of outpatient clinics and use of hospital beds in psychiatric care].

The past 15-year period has seen an increase in use of psychiatric outpatient services. Hospital capacity has been reduced, concurrently. In this study, the number of admissions, and the use of hospital beds, are compared prior to and following the expansion of outpatient services for a particular catchment area in Southern Norway. No significant change was found in either number of admissions or length of hospital stay, despite a threefold increase in outpatient services. Possible explanations are discussed.