Nursing care hours of patients receiving varying amounts and types of consultation/liaison services

Psychiatric comorbidities in the general hospital population have been found to increase the cost of health care. This descriptive study provides an in-depth analysis (including nursing hours), of general hospital patients receiving low, medium, and high intensity consultation/liaison ( C L) services from C L psychiatrists and C L nurses using computerized databases and the medical record. The results show that there are significant differences among the subgroups receiving varying amounts of C L services. This study has particular significance for C L nursing as many C L nursing interventions are focused on both the patient and the delivery of nursing care by the staff nurse.