County drift: a type of geographic mobility of chronic psychiatric patients.

This study describes "County Drift," the tendency of chronic psychiatric patients to move from outlying counties to the central county containing the psychiatric hospital. Changes of residence of repeat visitors to a Psychiatric Emergency Service were examined to substantiate that a higher proportion (34.2%) moved to the central county than the reverse (5.3%). An analysis comparing patients who moved to the central county with those who did not showed that patients already connected to treatment and with schizophrenic/psychotic, disorders remained in their home counties. Patients presenting complications reflected by secondary diagnoses of personality or substance use disorders were more likely to relocate to the area of the psychiatric facility.