title: For improved outcomes, connect first-episode schizophrenia patients to comprehensive care quickly.
abstract: For schizophrenia patients, early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment can improve outcomes, according to mental health experts. And the first opportunity to intervene often occurs in an emergency setting. To help ED staff connect these patients to appropriate care quickly, the ED at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center has opened the First Episode Schizophrenia Clinic, one of only a few such care settings in the country. While most EDs don't have this type of resource available, experts suggest staff would benefit from regular education about the signs and symptoms of the disease, and they urge ED administrators and clinicians to foster relationships with outside mental health providers so suspected schizophrenia patients can be transitioned to appropriate care quickly. Onset of schizophrenia most often occurs during the teenage years. Patients may present with depressive symptoms, or they may be acting odd or reclusive. Other potential causes, such as substance abuse or alcohol intoxication, need to be excluded before a definitive diagnosis of schizophrenia can be made. Experts advise ED clinicians to make sure they communicate effectively with outside mental health providers when making a patient referral. The mental health provider needs to understand what workups were completed in the ED, and what conditions the ED staff are concerned about. Patients often fail to report why they have been referred.
mesh_terms: D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014481:United States