Dear John,
I am pleased to announce the release of the Treatment Advocacy Center's newest evidence brief, Delayed and Deteriorating: Serious Mental Illness and Psychiatric Boarding in Emergency Departments, which details how people with serious mental illness are disproportionately impacted by long wait times in emergency departments, a phenomenon known as "boarding." These individuals experience longer waits than non-psychiatric patients and have more serious consequences, including making recovery less achievable and their treatment more costly to the health care system.
The disparity in boarding is especially true for psychiatric patients who require inpatient care for their recovery. Psychiatric patients who are admitted to the hospital for inpatient care or transferred to another inpatient facility are most likely to experience boarding and wait the longest for placement in an inpatient bed of any patient in an emergency department.
The evidence presented shows that serious mental illness is a significant contributor to emergency department boarding, and any solutions to combat psychiatric boarding must address treatment gaps for individuals suffering from these conditions.
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Emergency department visits for people in psychiatric crisis have been steadily increasing in the United States.
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Lack of affordable, comprehensive psychiatric treatment services is largely to blame for psychiatric boarding in emergency departments.
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Individuals with serious mental illness are disproportionately affected by psychiatric boarding.
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Boarding of patients with serious mental illness has significant negative impacts on long-term health outcomes.
Sincerely,
John Snook
Executive Director
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