PATIENT TRANSFER FROM ONE CLINICIAN TO ANOTHER AND DROPPING-OUT OF OUTPATIENT TREATMENT

In a survey of 137 new patients applying for treatment at a community mental health center over a 6-month period, 32% did not attend at all, and of the attenders 31% dropped out. Transfer of a patient from one clinician to another doubled (p<0.02) the probability of dropping-out before the eighth visit. It is suggested that a certain proportion of negotiations between a patient and a new clinician are unsuccessful and that these failures in negotiation contribute to the patient's dropping-out. Consequently, each time a patient meets a new clinician there is a probability of the patient's dropping-out. Clinics can reduce their drop-out rate by avoiding the practice of transferring patients. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.