Each year, the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine presents its Dorfman Awards to top articles published in Psychosomatics, the organization's journal of consultation and liaison psychiatry.
This year's best research article honor went to the Yale-authored "Proactive Psychiatric Consultation Services Reduce Length of Stay for Admissions to an Inpatient Medical Team" which appeared in the November–December 2011 issue of Psychosomatics.
The article presented evidence that a proactive model for psychiatric screening of hospital admissions is feasible and effective, and that such screening could reduce length of stay, readmissions, and ultimately reduce hospital expenses.
Paul Desan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and director of Yale-New Haven Hospital's psychiatric consultation service, is lead author. William Sledge, MD, the George and Esther Gross Professor of Psychiatry, the deputy chair for clinical affairs and program development in Yale's Department of Psychiatry, and the medical director of Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, is senior author.
Additional Yale authors include Paula Zimbrean, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, Andrea Weinstein, MA, research assistant in psychiatry, and Janis Bozzo, MSN, RN, assistant clinical professor of nursing.
The award was presented on Friday, November 16, 2012 at the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine's annual meeting in Atlanta, GA.