Assessment of inpatient treatment of patients with schizophrenia in Japan:Implications for practice

This descriptive study examined a stratified random sample by month of 202 persons with schizophrenia hospitalized on an inpatient unit at a nonprofit hospital located in Tokyo, Japan in 1998. This is one of the first studies reported that evaluates the inpatient care provided to persons with schizo phrenia. The average length of stay was 107 days. The master treatment larg ely focused on medication management with other domains including daily obs ervations and documentation of care not meeting the standard of care. Over 25% of the patients were in restraints during their hospitalization. Two pa tient deaths were reported. Problematic areas were patient teaching, monito ring of medication side effects, treatment planning, and discharge planning . The study site is fully accredited and attending physicians were all psyc hiatrists. How pervasive these deficiencies are in other settings is not kn own. The findings of the study were shared with the professional staff. Cop yright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.