Impact of Involuntary Outpatient Commitment on the Revolving-Door Syndrome in North Carolina

Involuntary outpatient commitment has been used as a means of treating so-called revolving-door patients in the community and allowing them to experience the positive aspects of social and community life that stability can bring. To study the impact of North Carolina's revised outpatient commitment law on institutionalization rates, the authors measured state hospital admissions and days of hospitalization within a three-year period for all patients committed to outpatient treatment during that period. Statistically significant decreases occurred in both measures; the biggest percent reduction occurred in admission rates.