Abstract
The authors assessed the ability of the clinical staff of a 22-bed drug detoxification unit to recognize comorbid general psycbopathology by comparing the results of a psychiatric evaluation with a consecutive series (n = 131) of patients referred for consultation with a random sample (n = 91) of admissions not referred. Eighty-four percent of the referred patients met DSM-III-R criteria for comorbid Axis I or Axis II condition as compared with 21% of the random sample. However, given that only 20% of all admissions are referred for psychiatric consultation, these findings suggest that a substantial proportion of admissions with comorbid psychiatric conditions go unrecognized in this setting, and they underscore the need for staff education in the recognition of comorbidity in the face of managed-care initiatives.