UC Irvine expert says longer hospital stays may be needed for patients like Kanye West

Dr. Jody M. Rawles, UCI Health psychiatrist and vice chair of clinical affairs for the Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior.

IN THE NEWS: UCI Health psychiatrist Dr. Jody Rawles tells Billboard magazine that a longer hospital stay may be needed for people like entertainer Kanye West, whose physician ordered him hospitalized on Nov. 21 for exhaustion, dehydration and sleep deprivation.

Rawles, vice chair of clinical affairs for the Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, said he has no personal knowledge of West's case, but that  doctors may need more time to make a complete assessment of a patient's condition.

"Physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation can lead to erratic, psychotic and paranoid thinking and many performers and other professionals — and our society in general — don't get enough sleep," he added. "If the alleged reason for admission is dehydration and exhaustion, part of keeping someone hospitalized for a longer period is to figure out if that is all that's going on."

Read the Billboard article ›