As reported in a study published 2016 in “Health Affairs”, https://www.healthaffaiars.org, roughly 13 percent of all Emergency Department (ED) visits require a mental health consult and that percentage is increasing.
The American College of Emergency Physicians https://www.acep.org reports that more psychiatric cases end up in the ED because resources are stretched plus more people are being diagnosed as needing mental healthcare but at the same time, psychiatric beds in EDs have been reduced.
Since February 2018, Lighthouse Telehealth, a subsidiary of Harbor www.harbor.org a mental health provider in Ohio, is providing 24/7 inpatient psychiatric coverage for Mercy Health www.mercy.com via telemedicine to meet an urgent need for psychiatric services in their emergency department.
Lighthouse Telehealth and Mercy Health are now using new and innovative ways to provide residents in Ohio with appropriate mental health care by using the technology-based telehealth model and working in partnerships to ensure coverage for behavioral health and substance use disorder patients at Mercy Health facilities.
In addition, psychiatric consultations are now being provided in the ED at three other Toledo metro hospitals. Lighthouse Telehealth doctors and advanced practice nurses are also providing psychiatric care at other free standing EDs in the state.