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The Relationship Between Linkages to Behavioral Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care and Reductions in Non-urgent Emergency Department Visits Among Vulnerable Children

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the Charles and Stella Guttman Foundation who supported the mental health program that integrated behavioral health services at the pediatric clinic. We also acknowledge Audubon clinic Practice administrator Kim Moore, RN MSN.

Funding

The integrated behavioral health program was supported by Charles and Stella Guttman foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center-Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA

    Kalpana Pethe

  2. Department of Pediatrics, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA

    Angel R. Maldonado-Soto

  3. Undergraduate Student (Junior) Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Juhi Saxena

  4. LCSW New York Center for Child Development, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Evelyn J. Blanck

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, MN, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA

    Katherine A. Lingras

  6. Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, NY, USA

    Yumiko Aratani

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  1. Kalpana Pethe
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  2. Angel R. Maldonado-Soto
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  3. Juhi Saxena
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  4. Evelyn J. Blanck
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  5. Katherine A. Lingras
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  6. Yumiko Aratani
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Correspondence to Kalpana Pethe.

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Pethe, K., Maldonado-Soto, A.R., Saxena, J. et al. The Relationship Between Linkages to Behavioral Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care and Reductions in Non-urgent Emergency Department Visits Among Vulnerable Children. J Behav Health Serv Res 47, 377–387 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-019-09683-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-019-09683-3

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