Emergency room (ER) visits increase alarmingly among people who suffer from both physical illnesses and mental disorders, reports a new study.
People with both physical illnesses and mental disorders visit the emergency department more frequently than people with multiple physical illnesses or mental illness alone, according to a study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
What Do People Really Need from Their ER Trip?
Understanding and addressing of what exactly does the patient need from his visit to the Emergency room (ER) can improve patient care, finds a new study.
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‘People suffering from both physical illnesses and mental disorders visit the emergency department more frequently than people with multiple physical illnesses or mental disorder alone.’
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"Physical multimorbidity and mental disorders are associated with frequent visits to the emergency department," says author Mr. Marc Simard, Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), Québec, Quebec. "When both are present, the sum of their impacts is greater than its parts. This potential synergy between physical multimorbidity and mental disorders significantly increases the total impact on public health."
The large study looked at data on more than 5.3 million adults in Quebec, Canada, between 2012 and 2016. Researchers found that each additional physical illness in people with mental illness was associated with a larger increase in frequent visits to the emergency department compared to people without mental illness. Between people with 0 to 4 or more physical conditions, the absolute risk increased 16.2% for people with serious mental health disorders compared to people with common mental health issues (15.3%) or no disorders (11.4%).
![Health-related Google Searches Double Before ER Visits]( "Health-related Google Searches Double Before ER Visits")
Google searches for health-related information doubled among patients in the week before an ED visit, with more than half searching for clinical information related to the reason for their visit, such as the symptoms they were experiencing or potential illnesses they believed they might have.
The authors suggest that innovative health approaches, such as using clinical case managers in emergency departments to connect patients to nonemergency care providers could improve the care such patients receive. Approaches to promote high-quality care for mental illness have the potential to prevent up to 6% of emergency visits in Quebec.
"The linked study used rigorous methodology to show and quantify what should be intuitive to those of us who routinely treat patients with comorbid psychiatric and medical conditions," writes Dr. Mark Sinyor, Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, with coauthors in a related commentary.
"It contributes to a growing understanding of the interrelationship between mental and physical illness and suggests the need for a parallel synergy in the treatment strategy of these conditions, which is already beginning to occur."
"[T]he close interplay between mental and physical disorders strongly suggests that health care should ideally be provided via a collaborative approach in centers with expertise in both types of conditions," argue the commentary authors.
"Combined impacts of multimorbidity and mental disorders on frequent emergency department visits: a retrospective cohort study in Quebec, Canada" is published.
Source: Eurekalert
Health-related Google Searches Double Before ER Visits
Google searches for health-related information doubled among patients in the week before an ED visit, with more than half searching for clinical information related to the reason for their visit, such as the symptoms they were experiencing or potential illnesses they believed they might have.
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The authors suggest that innovative health approaches, such as using clinical case managers in emergency departments to connect patients to nonemergency care providers could improve the care such patients receive. Approaches to promote high-quality care for mental illness have the potential to prevent up to 6% of emergency visits in Quebec.
"The linked study used rigorous methodology to show and quantify what should be intuitive to those of us who routinely treat patients with comorbid psychiatric and medical conditions," writes Dr. Mark Sinyor, Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, with coauthors in a related commentary.
"It contributes to a growing understanding of the interrelationship between mental and physical illness and suggests the need for a parallel synergy in the treatment strategy of these conditions, which is already beginning to occur."
"[T]he close interplay between mental and physical disorders strongly suggests that health care should ideally be provided via a collaborative approach in centers with expertise in both types of conditions," argue the commentary authors.
"Combined impacts of multimorbidity and mental disorders on frequent emergency department visits: a retrospective cohort study in Quebec, Canada" is published.
Source: Eurekalert
Lengthy Emergency Room Visits for Psychiatric Patients Often Result in Transfer
People who visit emergency rooms for mental health care were transferred to another facility at six times the rate of people who visit ERs for other conditions.
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 Visits To The Emergency Rooms Increase As The Air Pollution RisesEmergency rooms visits have been found to be on the higher side as the air pollution levels are increasing day by day in the US, finds a new study. | Advertisement
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