Analysis of patients attending a private psychiatric clinic

BACKGROUND: Private psychiatric clinics provide help for the bulk of our population, but they have not been evaluated systematically. It is time that we analyze the functioning of these set-ups to improve functioning. This paper is a modest attempt to analyze one such clinic. AIMS: To analyze the diagnostic distribution of the clients attending the clinic and to study the pattern of follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All records from April 1(st) 1997 to 31(st) March 1999 were analyzed. This is a descriptive study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A total of 3077 new patients visited the clinic in this period. The male:female ratio was 54:46. Diagnostic distribution revealed the following: schizophrenia 20%, affective disorders 40%, OCD 8%, dissociative disorders 5.5% and anxiety disorders around 4.5%. The pattern of visits revealed that 50% of the patients dropped out after the first visit. Another 25% did so in next the two visits.