Reduction of Length of Stay in an Acute Care Psychiatric Unit

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between reduced length of stay in an acute care psychiatric unit and readmission rates. METHOD: Data on average length of stay, total discharges and readmission rates from April 1988 to March 1994 for 2 hospitals with high average lengths of stay was obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information database. RESULTS: The average length of stay decreased from 25 days to 16 days, reaching the national level at one hospital. An initial increase in the readmission rate subsequently declined to pre-study levels. There was no change in length of stay at the other hospital. CONCLUSION: Reducing the length of stay in an acute care facility by 9 days to an average of 16 days did not lead to a sustained increase in the readmission rate.