Incidence and Costs of 1:1 Care in Psychiatric Hospitals in Germany - A Descriptive Analysis Based on the VIPP Project Data Set

Objective: 1: 1 care is applied for patients requiring close psychiatric monitoring and care like patients with acute suicidality. The article describes the frequency of 1: 1 care across different diagnoses and age groups in German psychiatric hospitals. Methods: The analysis was based on the VIPP Project from the years 2011 and 2012. A total of 47 hospitals with more than 120,000 cases were included. Object of the analysis was the OPS code 9-640.0 1: 1 care. The evaluation was performed on case level. Results: Data of 47 hospitals were included. Of the 121,454 cases evaluated in 2011 3.8% documented a 1: 1 care within the meaning of OPS 9-640.0 additional code. Of the 66245 male cases a 1: 1 care was documented in 3.5% and the 55207 female cases was 4.1 %. Compared to 2011, the proportion of 1: 1 care in 2012 rose to 4.8 %. Conclusion: The results show that 1: 1 care is frequently applied in German psychiatric hospitals. The Data of the VIPP project have proven to be a useful tool to gain information on the frequency of cost-intensive interventions in German psychiatric hospitals. Further analyses should create the possibility of evaluation at the level of the individual codes.