Utilization and Demographic Trends of a Southeast Emergency Department: Psychiatric Visits by the Adult Population over a 5 Year Period - Abstract
Introduction: Mental illness is highly prevalent in the United States and approximately 43.8 million people experience mental illness in a year. The number of people seeking care for mental illness in the emergency department (ED) is increasing and it is the fastest growing component of emergency medical services.
Methods: We employed retrospective data of 22,711 psychiatric visits by adults aged 19 years and above who visited the ED of a tertiary medical center over a 5-year period (2010-2014). We studied demographics characteristics of the population and we examined psychiatric visits and discharge diagnoses by date of presentation and service hour. Proportions, frequency and chi-square values were provided.
Results: The number of ED psychiatric visits increased by 5.1% in 2014 compared to 2010. During the study period, males accounted for most visits (55%) and most visits (56%) occurred after regular office hours. The period June-August accounted for the highest number of visits (26.57, n= 6,035) followed by March-May (25.98%, n=5,900). There were more visits on weekdays and Tuesday had the highest number of visits (15%, n=3,409) and the least number of visits was on Sunday (13% n=2,956). The most prevalent ED psychiatric diagnoses were substance use disorder (37.7), anxiety disorders (20.7), mood disorders (20.1) and schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders (12.8%).
Implications: There is a necessity to meet the growing needs of people with mental health problems using the ED and also address factors driving the use of the ED for mental health problems.