Research: Care in ER settings difficult for mental health, substance abuse patients, providers

Two professors are part of an effort to shine a light on the challenges of providing mental health and substance abuse care for patients in emergency department (ED) settings.
According to published reports, one in eight visits to the ED across the country involve psychiatric or substance use concerns -- and the frequency of such visits continues to rise.
Research published in January in the “Annals of Emergency Medicine” revealed that Linda Isbell, Ph.D, and her colleagues developed a comprehensive, data-driven model of the challenges and care dynamics associated with providing ED care to patients with mental health and substance use disorders based on in-depth interviews with 86 ED physicians and nurses working in eight hospitals in the N...