Emergency mental health care
ISSUE SUMMARY
As a result of diminished state, federal as well as private insurance support for mental health services physicians in Kansas are witnessing fewer viable options available for patients requiring emergency mental health services. Patients with psychiatric conditions can be frequently marginalized in society. Because of the nature of their illness, navigation of our health care system can be daunting and ultimately make diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care of mental illness challenging to patients and caregivers.
Appropriate management of psychiatric patients, particularly within emergency situations, is more challenging with diminishing state resources and access to inpatient as well as outpatient services. Because of these declining resources, it is increasingly difficult to promptly and appropriately match patient needs with the proper resources for stabilizing and treating patients requiring emergency mental health services.
Emergency management of psychiatric patients principally involves the intersection of emergency medical services, law enforcement, social work, hospital based emergency departments and local and state governmental agencies. Outdated commitment laws that do not take into account the current needs of psychiatric patients compound the challenges health care professionals face, particularly in crisis cases. More than many other types of illnesses, patients with mental health emergencies may be faced with increasingly large gaps in outpatient support and inpatient bed capacity which negatively impacts the following: continuity of care, medication reconciliation and compliance; demand for crisis care; cost of care; transportation challenges in accessing care; and legal considerations (i.e. when commitment is used if they are an immediate danger to themselves or others).
ADOPTED ACTION OR POLICY
The Kansas Medical Society supports the need for a careful study and analysis of issues related to access to and quality of mental health care in our state, particularly emergency mental health services. KMS urges that a broadly-based, multi-disciplinary study group be formed to conduct the study, and to make recommendations for possible improvements.
Adopted by the KMS House of Delegates on April 30, 2011.
