A Study of Referral Failures for Potentially Suicidal Patients: A Method of Medical Care Evaluation

A quality assurance study was performed upon 296 suicidal patients, the referring clinicians, & the psychiatric division of an emergency room of a university hospital. The 5-point rating scale used proved reliable in separating patients with moderate to severe symptoms from those with less severe illness. Referral failure rates were 24% for referrals within the university hospital system & 33% outside the system, which compared favourably with other facilities. 12 Refs. (NBB)