Many individuals in the United States suffer from mental illness. It is estimated that approximately twenty percent of United States children and adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder (Bardach, et. al., 2014). Many of these people can be treated in an outpatient setting, such as in physicians’ offices and support or therapy groups, but some may have to be hospitalized for inpatient treatment. The inpatient psychiatric unit is a type of care delivery system that focuses on acutely treating psychiatric crises and finding curative or therapeutic long term treatments for psychiatric illnesses. Though the care offered in the inpatient setting can be effective, it is also costly. According to one study, the average …show more content…
WW is a twelve-year-old boy who was admitted to East Alabama Medical Center’s (EAMC) pediatric psychiatric unit on September 4, 2015. The attending physician diagnosed WW with oppositional defiant disorder, disruptive behavior, and severe attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Throughout his nearly two week stay in the psychiatric unit, EAMC’s interdisciplinary team planned, discussed, and implemented each aspect of his treatment and discharge. These individuals collaborate to ensure that all aspects of the patient’s physical and emotional being are treated during his or her stay at East Alabama Medical Center. The purpose of this paper is to explore the inpatient psychiatric care delivery system by describing the care delivery system, discussing a patient case study, and analyzing the cost of care and cost-effectiveness of the psychiatric inpatient unit at …show more content…
According to one study, in 2004 approximately 2,891 inpatient and outpatient organizations provided specialized mental health care services in the United States (Sundararaman, 2009). In contrast, as of 2013, there were 5,686 hospitals in the United States (American Hospital Association, 2014). Medical care centers nearly double the amount of facilities designated for psychiatric patients. In rural areas specifically, it can be difficult to find properly trained psychiatric care providers. Due to the lack of specialized mental health care providers, primary care doctors are forced to treat psychiatric illnesses that they may or may not be familiar with (Sundararaman, 2009). Without physicians specialized in mental illnesses, it can be assumed that psychiatric patients in rural areas do not receive the quality care that could be provided from a mental health care