Hospital outcome measures following assertive community treatment in Edmonton, Alberta

Objective: To examine hospital outcome measures for individuals with chroni c and severe mental illnesses before and after their registration in an ass ertive community treatment (ACT) program in Edmonton, Alberta. Methods: Data were collected from Alberta Health on individuals who were re gistered in ACT from April 1993 to April 1995. For each individual, hospita l outcome measures were calculated for the 365 days prior to and 365 days a fter registration for ACT (thus covering April 1, 1992-March 31,1996). Results: Data were collected from 295 individuals. Compared with I year pri or to beginning ACT, there was a 34% reduction in hospital separations for patients with psychiatric diagnoses. The average length of stay (LOS)for ea ch separated patient decreased by 56%, and the hospitalization days for eac h patient separated also decreased by 39%. The number of emergency visits f or psychiatric reasons was reduced by 32%, and the number of clients visiti ng emergency departments for psychiatric reasons declined by 30%. Conclusions: In the I-year period after registration in an ACT program, hos pital outcome measures were improved in this cohort of 295 individuals with severe and chronic mental illnesses.