Quality Indicators and Outcomes for Persons Discharged from State Psychiatric Hospitals

This report examines the experiences of persons discharged from a state psychiatric hospital in Washington State, to help identify interventions that might improve post-discharge client outcomes. We found that state psychiatric hospital readmissions are not uncommon—44 percent of those discharged were readmitted to a state or community psychiatric hospital within 540 days. For State psychiatric hospital episodes, timely post-discharge access to outpatient mental health is not associated with lower psychiatric readmission rates, but does appear to improve other client outcomes. Persons with substance use disorders had significantly higher psychiatric readmission rates, and timely post-discharge engagement in substance use disorder treatment is likely to reduce psychiatric readmission rates.