Conference paper
ADMITTING OR DISCHARGING PATIENTS WITH OPIATE OR ALCOHOL RELATED PROBLEMS? PSYCHIATRIST UNCERTAINTY AND WELFARE LOSSES
Noemy Gerard
; Psychiatric Unit, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Psychiatrique de Mons-Borinage (CHUP-MB), Mons, Belgium
Caroline Kadji
; Obstetric Unit, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Brugmann, Bruxelles, Belgium
Xavier Bongaerts
; Psychiatric Unit, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Psychiatrique de Mons-Borinage (CHUP-MB), Mons, Belgium
Patrick Desaive
; Psychiatric Unit, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Psychiatrique de Mons-Borinage (CHUP-MB), Mons, Belgium
Juan Martin Tecco
; Psychiatric Unit, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire et Psychiatrique de Mons-Borinage (CHUP-MB), Mons, Belgium
Abstract
Background: Much attention has focused on variations in therapeutic strategies across catchment areas and the related question
of whether the differences in attitudes are due to socio-economic variables in the studied population or to physician uncertainty
about making a specific therapeutic recommendation.
Subjects and method: We monitored the emergency admission rate for patients with alcohol or opiate related problems of 9
resident psychiatrists for a year. To rule out differences in population characteristics, the study took place in only one hospital:
Brugmann University Hospital, whose catchment area is the north of Brussels.
Results: Our results show 3 distinctive practice styles. We suggest that variation in urgent admission rates for patients with
alcohol and opiate related problems can be due not only to the socio-economic variables of the population, but also to medical
uncertainty about the effectiveness of admission for the treatment of these disorders.
Conclusion: The extent of uncertainty about appropriate standards of care and the plausible related inappropriate care and
welfare losses are discussed.
Keywords
small area variation; uncertainty; addiction
Hrčak ID:
263826
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2017.
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