Abstract
Objective:
To explore the role of specialist outpatient eating disorders services and investigate how direct access to these affects rates of referral, admissions for inpatient treatment, and continuity of care.
Method:
Services beyond primary care in Greater London retrospectively identified adolescents who presented with an eating disorder over a 2-year period. Data concerning service use were collected from clinical casenotes.
Results:
In areas where specialist outpatient services were available, 2-3 times more cases were identified than in areas without such services. Where initial outpatient treatment was in specialist rather than nonspecialist services, there was a significantly lower rate of admission for inpatient treatment and considerably higher consistency of care.
Discussion:
Developing specialist outpatient services with direct access from primary care is likely to lead to improvements in treatment and reduce overall costs.
Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Adolescent
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Ambulatory Care* / economics
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Ambulatory Care* / statistics & numerical data
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Anorexia Nervosa / diagnosis*
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Anorexia Nervosa / economics
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Anorexia Nervosa / epidemiology
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Anorexia Nervosa / psychology
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Anorexia Nervosa / therapy*
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Continuity of Patient Care / economics
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Continuity of Patient Care / organization & administration
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Continuity of Patient Care / statistics & numerical data
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Cost Savings / statistics & numerical data
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Female
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Health Services Accessibility / economics
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Health Services Accessibility / organization & administration
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Health Services Accessibility / statistics & numerical data
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Humans
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London
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Patient Acceptance of Health Care / psychology
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Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data
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Patient Admission / economics
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Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data
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Primary Health Care / economics
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Primary Health Care / organization & administration
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Primary Health Care / statistics & numerical data
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Referral and Consultation / economics
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Referral and Consultation / organization & administration
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Referral and Consultation / statistics & numerical data
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Specialization*
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State Medicine / economics
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State Medicine / organization & administration
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State Medicine / statistics & numerical data*
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Treatment Outcome