Admission histories, patterns, and subgroups of the heavy users of a state psychiatric hospital.

The present study addressed several questions regarding the admissions patterns of the "heavy" users of a state psychiatric center. What percentage of "heavy" user cohorts go on to have one or multiple post-index admissions? What are the yearly post-index admission patterns of "heavy" users? Do different indexed "heavy" user cohorts have similar yearly post-index admission patterns? Are there discernible differences among "heavy" users in the number of post-index and lifetime admissions? The results and their implications, both theoretical and practical, are discussed. Future research directions are detailed.