title: Psychiatric Boarding in Washington State and the Inadequacy of Mental Health Resources.
abstract: Psychiatric boarding is a term derived from emergency medicine that describes the holding of patients deemed in need of hospitalization in emergency departments for extended periods because psychiatric beds are not available. Such boarding has occurred for many years in the shadows of mental health care as both inpatient beds and community services have decreased. This article focuses on a 2014 Washington State Supreme Court decision that examined the interpretation of certain sections of the Washington state civil commitment statute that had been used to justify the extended boarding of detained psychiatric patients in general hospital emergency departments. The impact of this decision on the state of Washington should be significant and could spark a national debate about the negative impacts of psychiatric boarding on patients and on the nation's general hospital emergency services.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Bloom is Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR. bloomj@ohsu.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bloom
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003419:Crisis Intervention / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004637:Emergency Services, Psychiatric / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014861:Washington