Patients may not be able to fully report to their next level of care health-care provider their course of hospitalization or discharge treatment recommendations. The aftercare instructions given the patient may not be available to the next level of care provider at the patient's initial intake or follow-up appointment. In order to provide optimum care, next level of care providers need to know details of precipitating events immediately preceding hospital admission, the patient's treatment course during hospitalization including rationale and target symptoms for medications changed, discharge medications and next level of care recommedations (AACP, 2001).

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• American Psychiatric Association
• American Academy of Community Psychiatrists Continuity of Care Guidelines
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD)
• National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems (NAPHS)

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• Adair, C.E., McDougall? , G.M., Mitton, C.R. et al (2005). Continuity of care and health outcomes among persons with severe mental illness. Psychiatric Services, 56(9), 1061-1069.
• American Psychiatric Association (APA). Practice guideline for psychiatric evaluation of adults. Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Press, Inc; 1995. 28 p. [58 references]
• American Academy of Community Psychiatrists Continuity of Care Guidelines (2001) http://www.comm.psych.pitt.edu/finds/COG.DOC

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