| Summary: | Patients can be treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in numerous services, programs, and settings for varying durations. There are usually four levels of care for patients with mental illness: inpatient hospitalization (i.e., 24-hour care in a structured setting, usually for patients who are severely depressed, traumatized, or suicidal), residential treatment (i.e., similar to inpatient hospitalization but in a more home-like environment, medical staff not available on a 24-hour basis, for residents who are declared medically stable), partial hospitalization (i.e., day treatment, for patients who need structured treatment program but do not need 24-hour supervision), or outpatient treatment. There remains uncertainty about the effective durations for treatment, and benefits of more resource-intensive inpatient treatment versus outpatient programs. This Rapid Response report aims to review the comparative clinical effectiveness of long- (i.e., over 90 days) versus short-term (i.e., 28 to 45 days) inpatient treatment programs, and the comparative clinical effectiveness of inpatient versus outpatient treatment programs for patients with PTSD. Evidence-based guidelines regarding inpatient treatment programs for patients with PTSD will also be examined
|
|---|