TY - JOUR
KW - behavioral health problems
KW - Emergency Department Utilization
KW - integrated behavioral health services
KW - pediatric primary care
AU - K. Pethe
AU - A. R. Maldonado-Soto
AU - J. Saxena
AU - E. J. Blanck
AU - K. A. Lingras
AU - Y. Aratani
A1 - 
AB - The integration of behavioral health (BH) services within pediatric primary care has been utilized as a way to address young children's social-emotional needs. This study aimed to examine whether linking at-risk young children to BH services is associated with a reduction in "non-urgent" emergency department (ED) visits. BH teams integrated in a pediatric clinic conducted socio-emotional screening in children 6-65 months of age and tracked ED utilization for children with positive screening. The results indicated that children with positive screening are less likely to have a non-urgent ED visit than children with negative screening with concerns (NWC) and are more likely to be connected to services. Among children in the NWC group, those connected to services were less likely to have non-urgent ED visits than those not connected to services. These findings suggest that integrated behavioral health care has the potential to reduce non-urgent ED visits among at-risk children.
AD - Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center-Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA. kp2616@cumc.columbia.edu.; Department of Pediatrics, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA.; Undergraduate Student (Junior) Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.; LCSW New York Center for Child Development, New York, NY, 10027, USA.; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, MN, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA.; Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, NY, USA.
BT - The journal of behavioral health services & research
C5 - Financing & Sustainability; Healthcare Disparities
CY - United States
DO - 10.1007/s11414-019-09683-3
JF - The journal of behavioral health services & research
LA - eng
M1 - Journal Article
N2 - The integration of behavioral health (BH) services within pediatric primary care has been utilized as a way to address young children's social-emotional needs. This study aimed to examine whether linking at-risk young children to BH services is associated with a reduction in "non-urgent" emergency department (ED) visits. BH teams integrated in a pediatric clinic conducted socio-emotional screening in children 6-65 months of age and tracked ED utilization for children with positive screening. The results indicated that children with positive screening are less likely to have a non-urgent ED visit than children with negative screening with concerns (NWC) and are more likely to be connected to services. Among children in the NWC group, those connected to services were less likely to have non-urgent ED visits than those not connected to services. These findings suggest that integrated behavioral health care has the potential to reduce non-urgent ED visits among at-risk children.
PP - United States
PY - 2019
SN - 1556-3308; 1094-3412
T1 - The Relationship Between Linkages to Behavioral Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care and Reductions in Non-urgent Emergency Department Visits Among Vulnerable Children
T2 - The journal of behavioral health services & research
TI - The Relationship Between Linkages to Behavioral Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care and Reductions in Non-urgent Emergency Department Visits Among Vulnerable Children
U1 - Financing & Sustainability; Healthcare Disparities
U2 - 31875281
U3 - 10.1007/s11414-019-09683-3
VO - 1556-3308; 1094-3412
Y1 - 2019
Y2 - Dec 24
ER -