Dr. Gerardi is waiting to see if the Affordable Care Act changes the game.
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ACEP Now: Vol 33 – No 06 – June 2014Dr. Hirshon said some of his colleagues report that patients have boarded between two weeks and 42 days in the ED. He said it’s going to take creative solutions to solve this problem.
Nationwide, a 2008 ACEP survey showed that 99 percent of emergency physicians admit psychiatric patients each week, and nearly 80 percent report psychiatric patients are boarded in the ED.
“I think no single source is going to have all the answers,” Dr. Hirshon said. “The ED is a spot that works 24-7, 365 days a week and we’re there to help people…Our mission is to help people, but that’s problematic when they have needs that are above and beyond what we have in the ED.”
Kelly April Tyrrell is a freelance journalist based in Wilmington, Delaware.
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