Research > 11 > 119

	Frequent Emergency Room Visits Signal Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Washington State's Aged, Blind and Disabled Clients
Download: State report, Data | Snohomish report, Data

Summary: Nine out of ten aged and disabled clients who visited the emergency room 31 or more times in FY 2002 had a substance abuse disorder, a mental illness, or both. Furthermore, clients who visit the emergency room frequently use large quantities of prescription narcotics and few of these clients with substance abuse disorders receive treatment for that condition. Findings indicate the need to: improve screening in the emergency room to identify alcohol or drug disorders and mental illness; strengthen linkages between the emergency room and the chemical dependency and mental health treatment systems to increase penetration rates, especially for alcohol or drug treatment; and ensure that treatment systems have sufficient capacity for increased demand that would likely arise from improved screening and referral from emergency room settings.

County-level findings for Washington's Snohomish County are also provided.

Related Information Chemical Dependency Treatment Reduces Emergency Room Costs And Visits (11.120fs) Methadone Treatment For Opiate Addiction Lowers Health Care Costs And Reduces Arrests And Convictions (4.49fs) Non-Methadone Chemical Dependency Treatment For Opiate Addiction Reduces Health Care Costs, Arrests And Convictions (4.50fs) Patterns of Prescription Opiate Use By Aged, Blind or Disabled Clients In Washington State  (8.27) Reducing Emergency Room Visits Through Chemical Dependency Treatment: Focus on Frequent Emergency Room Visitors (11.121fs) Washington State Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Cost Offset Pilot Project: 2002 Progress Report (11.109) Washington State Mental Health Services: Cost Offsets and Client Outcome (3.29)

       ^{BOOKMARK THIS}

For more ways to get in touch with the Department of Social and Health Services, go to the DSHS Contact Information Web page. Technical Site Comments: DSHS Webmaster. Copyright 2004 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.