Proportion of inpatient days for mental disorders: 1969-1978.

Mental hospitalization is an important part of the national picture of hospitalization. Total inpatient days for mental disorders, and their proportion of total hospital days for all disorders, is a statistic of considerable national import, yet there has never been a complete description of total inpatient days for mental disorders. The authors present data from the National Center for Health Statistics for nine years (data for only two years had been published previously), and correct them, and national totals, for the previous exclusion of data from residential treatment centers and community mental health centers. From 1969 through 1978, inpatient days for mental disorders fell from 168 million to 95 million. This decrease was more than accounted for by decreased psychiatric inpatient days at two sites: state mental hospitals and Veterans Administration psychiatric hospitals. The number of psychiatric inpatient days at all other sites increased during this time period. The authors also note a decrease in total inpatient days for all disorders over the decade. However, 85 percent of the total national decrease was accounted for by the decrease in psychiatric inpatient days. The authors stress the implications for public policy and the need for a more adequate national data base.