Whole-Person Care Integration: Streamlining Patient Flow to Improve Patient Safety and Timeliness to Treatment (138H)

Emergency departments serve as the front-line response to physical and psychiatric emergencies. The prompt transfer of patients experiencing a psychiatric crisis to the appropriate level of treatment is critical for patient safety and quality of care. It is estimated that 1 in 8 of all emergency department visits have a co-occurring behavioral health condition. However, the transfer of patients experiencing psychiatric crises is often significantly impeded by a substantial shortage of specialized treatment options, outpatient resources, and a complex maze of eligibility and qualification requirements for patients who need outpatient behavioral health or inpatient psychiatric treatment.

At John Muir Health in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a notable rise in both the frequency of emergency department visits and the acuity of patients experiencing a psychiatric crisis. Hospital operations, medical staff and nursing leaders seized this challenge as an opportunity for innovation in patient flow from the emergency departments to the acute psychiatric hospital by establishing a Centralized Patient Transfer Center that integrated physical and psychiatric medicine. This whole-person care model streamlined patient throughput, improved access, care coordination and timeliness to lifesaving treatment, striving to provide the right care, at the right place and at the right time. The optimization of clinical resources improved hospital operations and elevated the standard of patient care, helping to reduce behavioral health stigma and disparities, aligning seamlessly with John Muir Health's mission of enhancing community health with quality and compassionate services.