Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Dedicated inpatient unit for homeless seriously mentally ill improves housing stability (UK)
Item in CMHA/Ontario's Mental Health Notes - "Providing a specific inpatient ward for people with serious mental illness who are homeless encouraged their admission to hospital and led to improved engagement with psychiatric services and increased stability in their housing, according to an article in the Journal of Mental Health. Clients of the Focus Homeless Outreach Team in inner-city London, England were admitted to either a designated 12-bed inpatient unit or any acute admission ward within the area served by the team. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether the clients who were admitted to the designated ward received more carefully coordinated discharge plans which increased their engagement with the team and resulted in greater housing stability 12 months after discharge from hospital."  
  

VA Hospitals Beat National Average in Overall Quality of Care
Reuters Health story at Medscape - "Veterans Health Administration hospitals score better than national averages in overall quality of care, chronic disease care, and preventive care, according to a report in the December 21st Annals of Internal Medicine. ... Dr. Asch and colleagues compared the overall quality of care delivered in the VHA system and in the United States, as well as the quality of acute, chronic, and preventive care across 26 conditions." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].