Table 1.
Summary of patient characteristics collected for behavioral health visits to the emergency department.
| Characteristica | All ED BH patient visits (n=2,585) | Patient visits resulting in discharge (n=1,083) | Patient visits resulting in psychiatric admission (n=1,502) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, median (IQR; range), y | 31 (20–47; 4–93) | 30 (20–46; 4–93) | 32 (20–48; 5–90) | 0.07 |
| Age, y | ||||
| <18 | 510 (20) | 212 (20) | 298 (20) | 0.96 |
| 18–65 | 1,941 (75) | 816 (75) | 1,125 (75) | |
| >65 | 134 (5) | 55 (5) | 79 (5) | |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 1,392 (54) | 585 (54) | 807 (54) | 0.88 |
| Male | 1,193 (46) | 498 (46) | 695 (46) | |
| Mode of arrival | (n=2,579)b | (n=1,497)b | ||
| Personal transport | 1,761 (68) | 728 (67) | 1,033 (69) | 0.51 |
| EMS | 494 (19) | 209 (19) | 285 (19) | |
| Law enforcement | 324 (13) | 145 (13) | 179 (12) | |
| Payment type | ||||
| Commercial | 945 (37) | 357 (33) | 588 (39) | <0.001 |
| Medicare or Medicaid | 1,132 (44) | 461 (43) | 671 (45) | |
| Other/self-pay | 508 (20) | 265 (24) | 243 (16) | |
| Diagnosis | ||||
| Mood disorder | 629 (24) | 246 (23) | 383 (26) | <0.001 |
| Suicidal or homicidal ideation | 848 (33) | 219 (20) | 629 (42) | |
| Altered thought processes | 243 (9) | 93 (9) | 150 (10) | |
| All others | 865 (33) | 525 (48) | 340 (23) | |
| Transfer to external facility | 177 (7) | 0 | 177 (12) | |
| LOS, median, h | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.8 | <0.001 |
| LOS, range (IQR), h | 0.2–243.0 (3.1–7.2) | 0.2–74.6 (2.7–5.8) | 0.3–243.0 (3.5–8.9) | |
BH, behavioral health; ED, emergency department; EMS, emergency medical services; IQR, interquartile range; LOS, length of stay.
a
Values are presented as number (percentage) of patients unless specified otherwise.
b
Sample size for characteristics with missing data.