Hospital & community psychiatry
-
To obtain a comprehensive picture of the levels of mental disability in the general state prison population in New York State, the authors gathered data on a random sample of inmates using a survey instrument adapted from the state's level-of-care surveys of the psychiatric population. The sample consisted of 3,332 inmates in the general prison population (9.4 percent) and 352 inmates in prison mental health units. The survey results showed that 8 percent of the state's prison inmates have severe psychiatric or functional disabilities that clearly warrant some type of mental health intervention, and another 16 percent have significant mental disabilities that require periodic services. The specific nature and extent of these disabilities need to be assessed before appropriate services can be developed.
-
Hosp Community Psychiatry · Oct 1987
Patient access to medical records in a forensic center: a controlled study.
Several psychiatric facilities have opened their records partially or completely to patients. The authors report the results of a two-part study in which 20 patients on a minimum-security unit of a forensic center were allowed to read their records and later to write in them. ⋯ No significant differences in patient behaviors were found on any of the units as a result of access. Staff attitudes toward access did not differ significantly before or after the study, and few differences were found in staff charting practices.