The impact of discharge planning on chronic schizophrenic patients.

The authors studied the discharge planning process at four inpatient facilities and its impact on 119 chronic schizophrenic patients over a one-year period. Adequacy of discharge planning varied significantly among the inpatient units; the authors attributed this variance to communication between inpatient and outpatient staff, staff-patient ratios, and staff effort. Overall, staff were most thorough in planning drug treatment and aftercare and least thorough in planning living arrangements in the community. The authors found that adequacy of discharge planning for aftercare treatment as well as patients' economic situations significantly influenced both treatment compliance at three-month follow-up and rates of early rehospitalization.