Patient-controlled Admissions to Inpatient Care

Patient-controlled admissions refer to the possibility for patients with severe psychiatric conditions to admit themselves to inpatient care. Compared to having the healthcare providers make this decision, patient-controlled admissions are believed to decrease the need for involuntary care, decrease symptom levels, and increase quality of life and autonomy for the patient. The current research project aims to evaluate the implementation of patient-controlled admissions to all patients with severe psychiatric conditions within Region Stockholm, Sweden, including child and adolescent psychiatry (but excluding forensic psychiatry and addiction care).

Patients with severe psychiatric conditions represent a group who have extensive care needs and for whom few effective interventions exist. Diagnoses such as schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder usually have a poor prognostic outlook in terms of recovery, and patients often suffer from life-long disabilities. Meanwhile, their healthcare expenditures are typically high. In case of increased symptoms and novel sickness spells, healthcare providers make an assessment if admission to inpatient care is needed. This gatekeeper-model is typical of most western countries and infers that the decision to be admitted is always made by a third party. Since about a decade, attempts at transferring the responsibility of admissions to patients themselves is being implemented and tested in several countries and contexts, referred to as patient-controlled admissions. The idea is to increase patient involvement, enhance self-determination, and improve their ability to manage signs of illness. Patient-controlled admissions involve signing an agreement between inpatient care, outpatient care, and those patients that are deemed to have the highest care needs, whereby the patients can contact an inpatient ward and be admitted when required. Previous research has revealed that patient-controlled admissions decrease involuntary admissions and that both healthcare providers and patients are positive towards its use. These studies have however been small and used limited outcome measures. The current research project aims to study the results of implementing patient-controlled admissions to all patients with severe psychiatric conditions within Region Stockholm, Sweden, including child and adolescent psychiatry (but excluding forensic psychiatry and addiction care). Apart from determining the possible impact on both number of admissions and days in admission (voluntary and involuntary), other psychiatric or somatic healthcare consumption, sick-leave, and redeemed medical prescriptions, self-report measures will be used to assess the effects on symptom levels, quality of life, and autonomy. A matched control group (matched on account of age, gender, diagnosis, and history of psychiatric inpatient care, but who have not been granted access to patient-controlled admissions) will also be utilised to determine the effects of patient-controlled admissions on all primary outcomes measures, other psychiatric or somatic healthcare consumption, sick-leave, and redeemed medical prescriptions.