title: Medical emergency department utilization patterns among uninsured patients with psychiatric disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined medical emergency department utilization for patterns among uninsured patients with psychiatric disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Billing records of 15,672 uninsured adult patients treated in the emergency department of an academic medical center in southeast Texas over a 12-month period were analyzed for information on demographic characteristics, diagnosis, number of emergency department visits, and hospitalization.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 11.8% of the population was diagnosed as having at least one psychiatric disorder during an emergency department visit. Patients with psychiatric disorders had an increased risk of having multiple emergency department visits and hospitalization compared with patients without psychiatric disorders. The risk of multiple emergency department visits was particularly high for patients with either bipolar disorder or psychotic disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Uninsured patients with psychiatric disorders appear to be heavy users of medical emergency department services. These findings may be helpful in developing more efficient strategies to serve the mental health needs of the uninsured.
authors.affiliation: Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. jbaillar@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baillargeon
authors.forename: Chris R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Brie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Begley
authors.forename: Sarghi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Brad H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Pollock
authors.forename: Owen J
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pulvino
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Raimer
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology