Levels of Care
Please note: Eating disorders develop in men, women, girls, and boys. For ease in reading, we have used "she" and "her" in the text below.
The term “level of care” refers to the intensity of services provided by a treatment setting. Which level of care is appropriate for a patient is determined at the time of her initial diagnosis and subsequently whenever a change in her condition may warrant a transition to a different level. Settings include acute care hospitalization, residential care, partial hospitalization and various intensities of outpatient treatment. Many individuals need time in more than one level of care.
In evaluating what treatment setting will best meet the patient’s needs, a number of factors are considered:
- Is she medically stable?
- How severe are her abnormal eating behaviors?
- What is her psychological status? Does she have psychiatric problems that co-exist with her eating disorder?
- How well does she function at school or work and in other activities?
- How motivated is she to recover from her disorder?
- Is there a treatment program in her geographic area that will meet her needs?
- Does she have health insurance?
- Does the insurance cover treatment for an eating disorder?
Continuity of Care
As an individual improves, a less intensive level of care may become appropriate. For example, it is not unusual for a treatment team to recommend that a patient attend partial hospitalization following her discharge from a residential treatment center. Going to a less structured setting can be stressful for an individual, perhaps making her vulnerable to a set-back. The change becomes all the harder if she will have one or more new providers. If it is not feasible for a patient to keep the same clinicians when she changes level of care, it is important for her discharge team to ease her transition by communicating with her new providers and by arranging for her to meet them.
References
Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with eating disorders
American Psychiatric Association (APA). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with eating disorders. 3rd ed. Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Association ;2006 Jun. 128 p. [765 references].
This page was last updated on October 8, 2007.
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