Epidemiology of chronic mental health disorders among emergency room departments in the State of California

Background: Mental health disorders affect up to 20% of the U.S population. The combination of being uninsured, compounded with shrinking infrastructure and funding, adversely affects access to comprehensive mental healthcare programs and results in increased utilization in emergency departments across the nation. Method: In this study, associations between chronic mental health disorders and use of emergency department (ED) were examined using archival data from State of California Emergency Department Database, made available through the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Analysis included 310,911 ED patients with a primary diagnosis of chronic mental disorders. The focus understands the demographic, payment type, and temporal variations of this population. Results: The largest percentage of patients' medical expenses, not paid by any form of insurance or other health plan is at 29.44% of all ED chronic mental patient visits. 42.80% of white patients, 36.73% of Hispanic, and about 14.85% of Black did not use health insurance or other health plans for their payment. 60.36% of patients with chronic mental health conditions have a secondary diagnosis, and 28.77% are diagnosed with a tertiary condition. 62.82% of white was susceptible to alcohol, subsequently 26.28% of Hispanic, and 6.53% of Black. Substance abuse affected 59.81% of white, 23.69% of Hispanic, 11.95% of Black with a chronic mental health disorder. This understanding of the burden of ED and patients with the mental health disorders contribute to create a policy addressing the issue through a system of cost effective services.