The Clinical Role of Consultation Liaison Work in a System of Specialized Medical Care

To investigate the clinical role of consultation liaison work in a system of specialized medical care, we analyzed 494 patients on the request of other departments in our hospital who received psychiatric consultation for the period of one year from July 1, 1994. 1) Of these patients 30.8% had received their first examination in our department. These cases were divided into Group 1, who were diagnosed with a physical disease (63.6%), and Group 2, who had no clear diagnosis of physical disease (36.4%). 2) Although no sex differences were found in Group 1, there were more female patients in Group 2. The mean ages of Group 1 and 2 were 51 years and 39 years, respectively. 3) The chief complaints of each group were different: mental symptoms in Group 1 and physical symptoms in Group 2. 4) We followed the patients of both groups until the end of 1995, and three cases in Group 2 were diagnosed as physical diseases. Based on the present findings, we consider that consultation liaison work plays an important role in the system of specialized medical care to provide the most comprehensive care for patients