Outpatient treatment
Outpatient treatment provides long-term follow-up for patients, without inpatient admission to hospital. Patients make regular appointments and come to clinics only for the duration of their treatment. Outpatient treatment has the advantage that affected individuals continue their everyday life and their social connections. Patients and treating professional decide together whether outpatient treatment is necessary and possible.
Home treatment
Home treatment is an alternative to inpatient hospital admission. A treatment team meets the acutely ill mental patient in their familial environment and treats them there. This team includes a psychiatrist, nursing staff, social workers, and, possibly, therapy staff. Home treatment is also known as ward-equivalent treatment (in german: Stationsäquivanelente Behandlung "StäB").
Medical care centres (in german: Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum "MVZ")
Medical care centres bring together various specialities under one roof; one of these is psychotherapy care. The services provided by MVZ correspond basically to those of psychotherapists in private practice. When patients feel stabilised after care in a MVZ, they can continue care in a purely outpatient psychotherapy setting.
Psychiatric outpatient clinics (in german: Psychiatrische Institutsambulanz "PIA")
Psychiatric outpatient clinics are the first stop for people with mental diseases. The affected individuals in acute crisis situations have access here to an emergent evaluation in which medical doctors make a first assessment of the condition. The psychiatric outpatient clinic has other functions too. Together with affected individuals, it tries out various therapy options. It supports sick individuals with psychiatric management during the waiting time for a therapy slot or an inpatient admission. They also offer outpatient follow-up after inpatient therapy.
Cross-sector treatment
Diseases manifest themselves differently in different patients; the therapeutic requirements can differ depending on the course of the disease. For optimal results, the treatment concept must take this into account. The adjustment to the individual needs can be achieved by means of a mixture of forms of treatment such as inpatient, outpatient, or home treatment. The important motto is: “outpatient before inpatient”. Whenever possible, efforts are made to avert hospitalisation, and instead to treat patients on an outpatient basis or at home, even in acute cases. This ensures that patients stay in contact with their social milieu and do not have to be reintegrated after treatment. A possible form is the management by the same treatment team across all forms of treatment (sectors). Interacting with the same familiar team of doctors, therapists and other professionals in the inpatient setting, outpatient setting and at home gives patients additional sense of security and supports the healing process. When the treatment team cannot be the same, there must be good communication and good exchange of reports between the sectors.
Inpatient treatment
Inpatient treatment means that the patient spends some time in hospital. This is recommended when the disease presentation is serious, and the symptoms of the affected individual are severe. One way to initiate inpatient treatment is the planned admission. In such a case, before admission to hospital there is a conference between the treating professional and the sick individual addressing the treatment concept and the therapy options; patients can also be referred for admission by outpatient-practicing doctors in private practice. Another way for inpatient admission is the acute emergency.
Ward-equivalent treatment (in german: Stationsäquivalente psychiatrische Behandlung "StäB")
In this form of treatment, a treatment team rounds on patients regularly at home. This team consists of a psychiatrist, nursing staff, social workers, and, possibly, therapy staff. The StäB, also called “home treatment”, is for acutely ill individuals with mental disorders an alternative to inpatient treatment.
See also "Home treatment"
Day clinic
Treatment in the day clinic is appropriate for patients who live close to the hospital, are mobile, and who are not, or no longer, in need of the protected space of the inpatient hospitalisation. The treatment commonly takes places from Mondays to Fridays during daytime. Patients spend evenings, weekends, and legal holidays in the familiar atmosphere of their own home, or with their families. Some day clinics also offer treatment on weekends. In contrast to full inpatient treatment, the day-clinic treatment keeps the social connections of affected individuals intact.
Telemedicine encounter
In the telemedicine encounter, treating doctors and psychotherapy staff evaluate patients via computer, tablet, or mobile telephone. It is thus not location-dependent. For instance, patients can be at home, and doctors can be in the hospital or clinic. This form of treatment saves the time and the effort to drive to the hospital or clinic and enables treatment even when sick individuals have limited mobility. The telemedicine encounter does not replace the personal contact between patients and treating professionals. It is in many cases a valuable addition to psychiatric and psychosomatic day clinics and regular clinics.