OBJECTIVE To evaluate the usefulness of Casemix as a data collection system for consultation-liaison psychiatry services. METHOD Health information staff were requested to code psychiatric assessments and diagnosis prospectively for admissions to the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, between July 2002 and June 2004 using Casemix. RESULTS Psychiatric assessments were requested on 2.5% of all hospi...

A retrospective study of referrals to a child psychiatry liaison service was carried out in order to assess the impact of the reorganisation of the service. A total of 55% of referrals were of in-patients on the paediatric ward; other in-patients made up 12.5%. Of all referrals, 67% were from paediatricians. Of the children who had not harmed themselves, most were referred either for help with ...

Service development is guided by outcome measures that inform service commissioners and providers. Those in liaison psychiatry should be encouraged to develop a positive approach that integrates the collection of outcome measures into everyday clinical practice. The Framework for Routine Outcome Measurement in Liaison Psychiatry (FROM-LP) is a very useful tool to measure service quality and cli...

s of Recent Papers on Climate Change and Land Management in the West Prepared by Louisa Evers, Science Liaison and Climate Change Coordinator, BLM, OR-WA State