Estimating Risk for 1-Year Readmission at an Academic Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

Introduction: Readmission following psychiatric hospitalization is a common adverse outcome and rates of readmission are a valid indicator for the quality of inpatient care. The goal of this study was to identify risk factors available at the time of discharge associated with a higher risk for 1-year inpatient psychiatric readmission. Methods: Based on review of the literature, candidate risk factors for readmission were selected and abstracted from the discharge summaries of all 849 adult patients admitted to the University of Virginia Health System’s general inpatient psychiatric unit in 2013. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk factors and estimate risk for psychiatric readmission within 1 year of index admission Results: 23% of patients were readmitted within 1 year. Risk factors for readmission included diagnoses of thought disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 2.86, p-value [p] = 0.004) and substance-induced mood disorder (OR = 3.65, p = 0.028). Conclusions: This study identified unique risk and protective factors for 1-year psychiatric readmission. Identifying unit-specific risk factors for readmission may inform discharge planning and improve patient outcomes