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oa The impact of integrating behavioral health care in the Emergency Department at HGH
- Source: Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care, Volume 2016, Issue 2 - International Conference in Emergency Medicine and Public Health-Qatar Proceedings, Oct 2016,
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- 09 October 2016
Abstract
Background: Patients experiencing psychiatric emergencies often require resources not available at the hospital to which they present and frequently require transfer to an appropriate psychiatric facility as it is the case at the Emergency Department of HGH. This typically involves being held in the Emergency Department (ED) until a psychiatric bed is available. Boarding of psychiatric patients, (defined as a length of stay greater than four hours after medical clearance), is ubiquitous throughout emergency departments nationwide (USA) and in Qatar.
Methods: The Emergency Department at HMC established in May 2014 an innovative and pioneering psychiatric liaison service based in ED, it is the first in the Gulf Area. In this study we are set to look at the difference in response time, boarding time, and disposition during the last six month compared to a similar period of a previous year.
Results: When initiated treatment in ED and mobilized the community based services available in Qatar, the preliminary results indicate a substantial decrease of total admissions, a similar decrease in overnight boarding and a shorter turnaround time to disposition. A 18% decrease of total admissions, and a 300% decrease in overnight boarding.
Conclusion: Having a dedicated psychiatric team embedded in a busy emergency department is conducive to providing a higher quality of mental health care, decrease the adverse occurrences associated with boarding the severely mentally ill. We established a training program (C&L Fellowship with one year ER psychiatry and educational modules for the medical ED Staff).