Interventions and Treatment
Mobile Crisis Services Effective in Reducing ER Visits
October 16, 2018 | Emily Taylor
A new brief from the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut summarizes a study on the impact of the state’s Mobile Crisis Intervention Services youth mental health on emergency department visits. Connecticut’s mobile crisis services are available statewide free of charge for youth up to age 18 (or 19, if still enrolled in school) and provide on-site crisis stabilization, a psycho-social assessment, brief treatment, and linkage to follow-up. For the study, data from the mobile crisis records was compared with Medicaid claims data for similar youth with behavioral health conditions who had not used mobile crisis services. For the follow-up period of 18 months, the group that used mobile crisis services demonstrated a 25% reduction in risk of subsequent emergency department visits compared to the other group.