November 14, 2022
Mental Health
  • The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and 30 other industry groups wrote a letter to the White House asking for federal and state help to address the escalating number of mental health patients seeking care at hospital emergency departments (EDs). The groups noted that patients are being held in EDs for as long as months as they await psychiatric beds and many outpatient referral partners have cut back or are also struggling with staffing. ACEP President Dr. Christopher Kang wrote that, absent short- and long-term regulatory and legislative fixes, mental health care will continue to decline amid rising COVID-19 cases, flu season, and the RSV outbreak. (Article here)