Objectives: While psychosomatic clinics in German hospitals in general provide consultation-liaison and outpatient services, up to now no direct comparisons of the two systems of care have been made.
Methods: Based on a comparison of 750 CL patients and 617 outpatients from a university hospital during the course of one year, differences between the two patient populations were recorded for referral, reasons for presentation, and psychotherapeutic recommendations.
Results: Compared to outpatients (43 years), the average age of CL-patients was higher (50 years); the proportion of men was higher, and level of education was lower. Adjustment disorders and psychological factors in somatic disorders were more frequently diagnosed (versus more somatoform, affective and anxiety disorders in outpatients). CL patients had fewer experiences with psychotherapy and were overall less distressed than outpatients. More frequently they were recommended basic psychosomatic care or psychiatric outpatient treatment and less outpatient psychotherapy.
Conclusions: Implications for concepts of care are discussed. A uniform basic documentation for the two fields of care seem to make sense.