Crises averted: reimagining behavioral health crisis systems of care
Crises averted: reimagining behavioral health crisis systems of care
Crisis care is broken. Individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis regularly face frustration and unmet needs, often due to a lack of coordination and consistency. Carelon business Beacon Heath Options is a driving force bringing much-needed coordination within the healthcare community, creating a cohesive infrastructure to help meet behavioral health needs.
In most U.S. communities, accessing crisis care for individuals experiencing a behavioral health emergency is complicated at best, and at worst, a process fraught with barriers.
Too often, individuals in crisis end up either stuck in limbo waiting for a costly ER bed, or in jail receiving punishment rather than compassion during a behavioral health emergency. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The problem with uncoordinated crisis care
However, without coordinated behavioral health crisis systems, communities must rely on the system designed for medical emergencies.
Commonly, a behavioral health crisis results in a 911 call to law enforcement and/or an unnecessary connection to the emergency department pipeline. In this scenario, the individual often experiences a long wait for a psychiatric bed that they may not have even needed had they had access to a mobile crisis team or urgent walk-in center specifically designed with their needs in mind.
