Telepsychiatry program eases patient crowding in the ED, expedites mental health services to patients and providers.

With funding from the Duke Endowment, the Albemarle Hospital Foundation in Elizabeth City, NC, implemented a telepsychiatry program aimed at decreasing patient backlogs in the health system's EDs, while also quickly connecting patients with needed mental health care. The approach has more than halved LOS for patients who are discharged to inpatient treatment facilities. The approach is also credited with reducing recidivism rates and the need for involuntary commitments. Now the state has announced plans to employ a similar approach statewide. Patients in the ED are connected with psychiatric providers at a remote location through the use of telemedicine carts that are equipped with wireless technology. With expedited psychiatric treatment, administrators say that nearly 30% of patients with involuntary commitment (IVC) orders stabilize to the point that their IVC orders can be rescinded and they can be discharged from the ED to outpatient care. Since the start of the pilot program in March of 2011, project administrators report that the average LOS in the ED for patients discharged to inpatient treatment facilities has decreased from 48 hours to 22.5 hours.