The psychiatric, alcohol, and drug algorithm: a decision model for the nurse reviewer.

Although preadmission review and concurrent review are useful tools for limiting unnecessary medical expenditures, psychiatric and chemical dependency cases are more difficult to assess than medical/surgical cases because they are described in relatively subjective terms and do not lend themselves to review by systems currently in use. The Psychiatric, Alcohol, and Drug Algorithm (PADA) is a straightforward utilization review system for these cases. PADA is organized in decision trees for each reason for admission and reason for continued stay; this system enables nurse reviewers to make recommendations on most cases without further review.