Written by Nadell Asuru-Acey, MSW. Clinical Review by Jenny Ryan, LCSW-C.
The demand for mental health care far exceeds the supply of resources available. Millions of people worldwide experience mental health disorders like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Yet many of those people don’t have access to the services, treatments, and care they need.
In this article, we’ll examine the growing need for accessible, comprehensive mental healthcare for teens and young adults, based on an insightful NIH study.
We’ll also explain how Backpack Healthcare can support healthcare systems across the continuum of care, supporting smooth transitions that extend care beyond emergency interventions.
The Growing Youth Mental Health Crisis
The need for quality adolescent mental health care has only continued to grow since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, NIH found that approximately 53% of all adolescent psychiatric crises that led to inpatient admission were related to COVID-19 stressors.
This report also documented a sharp increase in mental health-related emergency room visits among young individuals is a cause for concern. Various factors contributed to this rise, including the growing prevalence of mental health disorders, increased awareness and recognition of mental health issues, and limited access to timely and appropriate care.
It’s clear that our current mental health infrastructure is not equipped to address the needs of an increasingly vulnerable adolescent population.
Emergency rooms are designed to handle acute physical emergencies, and the surge in mental health cases places additional burdens on staff, resources, and capacity. Emergency departments may not always have specialized mental health professionals available, resulting in suboptimal care for needy individuals.
This situation highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to mental healthcare that extends beyond emergency interventions.
How Backpack Healthcare is Simplifying Transition Care
Backpack Healthcare aims to foster collaboration between healthcare systems and outpatient treatment providers for children, adolescents, and their families. We aim to provide continuous support and seamless transitions between different levels of care, ultimately reducing the reliance on emergency departments as the primary avenue for mental health assistance.
Backpack Healthcare simplifies transition care for the organizations who partner with us in five crucial ways:
1. Establishing Good Communication with the Inpatient Care Team
Communication between the inpatient and outpatient care teams is vital for continuity of care. When teams maintain regular contact and have a mechanism for sharing relevant patient information, it helps ensure a smooth transition and consistent treatment approach.
2. Outcome Tracking
Backpack Healthcare allows for efficient evaluation of patient needs, timely assignment of appropriate resources, and tracking of referrals to ensure patients receive the necessary care without delay. Backpack Healthcare tracks outcomes of readmission rates and shares data back with inpatient facilities to provide better insight into the transition from inpatient to outpatient care.
3. Narrowing the Transition Gap
Scheduling a clinical intake with a care team member is a valuable step to expedite the transition process. By promptly offering an initial assessment and developing an individualized treatment plan, Backpack Healthcare can ensure that patients continue to receive appropriate care based on their specific needs and available community resources.
This proactive approach reduces the time gap between inpatient and outpatient care, minimizing the risk of treatment interruption. Backpack Healthcare is prepared to take on the family’s therapy and psychiatry needs right out of the hospital!
4. Connecting with the Patient and Family Before Discharge
It is crucial to establish a connection with the patient and their family before discharge from the inpatient facility. We make sure to take the time to introduce ourselves, explain the next steps in the treatment process, and address any concerns or questions so everyone involved can feel comfortable and cared for.
5. Reducing Readmission Rates
Backpack Healthcare completes ongoing comprehensive assessments, helps families create and implement safety plans, provides evidence-based therapeutic interventions, psychiatric psychoeducation, and management of medications, and provides connections to resources in the families’ communities. These efforts help to reduce the need for future inpatient stays.
Partner with Backpack to Ensure a Smooth Continuum of Care
If you have a patient in the state of Maryland who you feel could benefit from Backpack Healthcare’s services, you can make a referral by emailing [email protected] or calling 866-968-6342. You can also fill out the “Refer a Patient Form” on our partner page.
We look forward to partnering with you to deliver comprehensive, inclusive, and accessible care for today’s teens and young adults!