Utilization pattern of a Canadian psychiatric consultation service.

The authors reviewed 255 psychiatric consultations in a Canadian teaching general hospital over a one-year period. The majority of the patients were referred from the medical and surgical services. The three most commonly stated reasons for referral were either parasuicidal behavior, depression, or psychological conflicts affecting physical illness. The three most common primary psychiatric diagnoses were: affective disorders, organic brain syndromes, and transient situational disturbances. The factors influencing compliance among the patients referred for psychiatric ambulatory treatment were studied. Compliance was defined as attendance at the first appointment. Of the 42.8% of the patients referred for ambulatory psychiatric treatment, 54% complied.