EVALUATION OF THE FIRST MEDICAL PSYCHIATRY UNIT IN JAPAN

The first Medical Psychiatry Unit (MPU) in Japan was established in 19 90. The clinical experience during the first 4 years of this unit is p resented, and the characteristics of the Unit between its first 2 year s and its latter 2 years are compared. The number of patients, the ave rage length of stay, the primary psychiatric disorders, the combined p hysical diseases and their outcomes are presented. The data suggest th at while the experience of the MPU is limited, it plays an important r ole in Japan as (i) an appropriate clinical setting for patients with combined medical and psychiatric illnesses, (ii) a strategic model for dealing with psychiatric patients in the general hospital, (iii) an e ducational setting for psychiatric residents to become more familiar w ith medicine and surgery, and (iv) an opportunity for non-psychiatric residents to become familiar with psychiatric illnesses and treatments .