Children with medical and psychiatric disorders have driven increase in hospital usage and costs

This study found that much of the increase in pediatric hospital resource use was attributable to cases in which children had two conditions at the same time — a primary medical condition that was the reason for their hospital admission, as well as a secondary psychiatric disorder.“The greatest increase in hospitalizations was seen in cases where the psychiatric diagnosis was secondary — for example, a child admitted for severe asthma who also has a diagnosis of a common condition such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” Zima said.In 2014, nearly 80 percent of all hospital discharges with a psychiatric disorder were for a primary medical condition. These hospitalizations were significant because they accounted for 90 percent of the costs — or nearly $1.5 billion in total — for the children’s hospital care.“The rising demand for psychiatric care clearly suggests that we place a high priority on the needs of children who have a primary medical condition and also a psychiatric disorder at the same time,” Zima said.This study was published in the November edition of Pediatrics, a journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.Other authors were Dr. Tumaini Coker of UCLA, Jonathan Rodean and Matt Hall of the Children ’s Hospital Association, Dr. Naomi Bardach of UC San Francisco and Dr. Jay Berry of Boston Children’s Hospital. Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the Behavioral Health Centers of Excellence for California and the...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news