Ambulatory Care-Sensitive Conditions and Mental Health Disorders: A Short Overview of the Current State of Research

Abstract

What is the problem? Ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (ACSC) refer to a group of chronic and acute medical diseases such as diabetes, pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases considered not to require acute medical care and hospitalization if timely and appropriate primary respective ambulatory care is received (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 2001). ACSC-related hospitalizations and early rehospitalizations (≤ 30 days of discharge) are common and extremely costly in western countries (Galarraga, Mutter & Pines, 2015). Subsequently, interest is increasing in understanding the risk factors for potentially preventable acute care hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits for ACSC among a growing aging and multimorbid population. Next to patient characteristics such as demographic factors and socioeconomic status, health status (e.g., comorbidities) as well as adherence of medication and healthcare utilization, (Folsom et al., 2005; Robinson, Howie-Esquivel & Vlahov, 2012; Yoon et al., 2012; Davydow et al., 2014; Davydow et al., 2016), comorbid mental illness is thought to play a central role.