Inpatient Psychiatric Referrals to General Hospital Psychiatry Unit in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Andhra Pradesh

Background: There is a dearth of studies which are related to consultation-liaison psychiatry in India. The psychiatric referral rates in India are very low, considering the higher rates of psychiatric morbidity in patients who attend various departments of a hospital. Studying the pattern of psychiatric referrals may pave the way for interventions to improve the current scenario. Methods: The study population comprised of all the in patients who were referred for psychiatric consultation from other departments of King George Hospital over a period of one year. Data which was related to sociodemographic profile, source of referral, reason for referral and the psychiatric diagnosis were recorded and analyzed by using descriptive statistical methods. Results: A total of 78 patients were referred for psychiatric consultation. A majority of the psychiatric referrals (84%) were from the department of medicine and the most common reason for referral was evaluation of suicide attempt (50%), followed by abnormal behaviour (23%) and stress neurotic and somatoform disorders(16.6%). Conclusion: There is a need to encourage multi-disciplinary interaction in the management of patients who attend general hospitals, so as to better identify the psychiatric morbidity. Emphasis should be laid on sensitizing the general physicians on common psychiatric conditions so as to increase the provision of psychiatric care to those in need.