Post by Eagle Telemedicine

Significant and unmet behavioral health needs have landed squarely in hospital emergency departments, and the challenges for health system leaders are daunting. 🧠 Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. adults, approximately 58.7 million people, lived with a mental illness in 2023, per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 🚨 Psychiatric ED boarding averages 7 to 11 hours nationally and routinely exceeds 24 hours for patients requiring transfer, per the American College of Emergency Physicians. 📉 The psychiatric workforce cannot keep pace: the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration projects a shortage of up to 21,000 psychiatrists by 2030. Health systems are responding by building dedicated TelePsychiatry programs — embedding specialist access directly into ED workflows, inpatient units, and outpatient settings. It is not a workaround. It is how hospitals are sustaining behavioral health capacity where the workforce cannot reach. Read more on the blog. Link in comment. #BehavioralHealth #MentalHealth #TelePsychiatry #Telehealth #HealthcareWorkforce #EmergencyMedicine #HealthSystemLeadership #EagleTelemedicine