Ridesharing as an Alternative to Ambulance Transport for Voluntary Psychiatric Patients in the Emergency Department

INTRODUCTION: Emergency department (ED) crowding is a growing problem. Psychiatric patients have long ED lengths of stay awaiting placement and transportation to a psychiatric facility after disposition. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of length of ED stay after disposition for voluntary psychiatric...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Blome, Andrea, Rosenbaum, Jennifer, Lucas, Nicole, Schreyer, Kraftin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine School of Medicine 2020
Materias:
Behavioral Health
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7234724/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32421509
http://dx.doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2020.2.45526
Descripción
Sumario:INTRODUCTION: Emergency department (ED) crowding is a growing problem. Psychiatric patients have long ED lengths of stay awaiting placement and transportation to a psychiatric facility after disposition. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of length of ED stay after disposition for voluntary psychiatric patients before and after the use of Lyft ridesharing services for inter-facility transport. RESULTS: Using Lyft transport to an outside crisis center shortens time to discharge both statistically and clinically from 113 minutes to 91 minutes (p = 0.028) for voluntary psychiatric patients. Discharge time also decreased for involuntary patients from 146 minutes to 127 minutes (p = 0.0053). CONCLUSION: Ridesharing services may be a useful alternative to medical transportation for voluntary psychiatric patients.

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