Medscape (2/10, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reports, “A national shortage of psychiatric services means a growing number of US emergency departments (ED) are turning to telepsychiatry to fill a critical treatment gap,” data indicate. After surveying “over 5300 EDs,” researchers “found that 20% of those that responded to the survey were utilizing telepsychiatry services, especially in high-volume EDs, those located in rural areas, and those designated as critical access hospitals.” Next, “a second survey of 95 EDs conducted by the same group found that for the majority, telepsychiatry was the only form of emergency psychiatry services, with one quarter receiving such services at least once a day – especially in admission or discharge decisions and transfer coordination.” The authors concluded this suggests that “telepsychiatry fills a critical role by enabling many EDs to access emergency psychiatric services.” The findings were published online Feb. 5 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.
Related Links:
— “Telepsychiatry Filling a Critical Gap in US Emergency Care, “Batya Swift Yasgur, Medscape, February 10, 2020