An Evaluation of Virtual Psychiatric Transition of Care Offered in Behavioral Health Settings

The foundational idea for the Virtual Psychiatric Transition of Care (VPTC) program came from the Atrium Health Hospital at Home care model which has garnered wide acclaim and financial support in the acute care world. A behavioral health care team comprised of licensed clinicians (Behavioral Health Professionals), health coaches, a consulting psychiatric pharmacist and psychiatric providers follow patients for 45 days or more depending on patient need after their acute care encounter. Patient enrolled in the VPTC program will receive the following core components: Introduction to the patient follow-up process, psychosocial assessment, tracking and treatment recommendations for (residential movement, nutrition, sleep hygiene, stress management, pain management, perinatal/postpartum mood disorders, substance abuse), tracking and treatment recommendations for behavioral health symptoms (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, etc.), placement into an appropriate case management program if needed, navigation to additional psychiatric or substance use services if needed, and motivational interviewing and brief therapeutic recommendations if needed.

For patients that have attempted suicide, they will begin the VPTC program following the zero suicide pathway. The Atrium Health Behavioral Health Service Line created the 'Zero Suicide pathway', in 2019 for those patients identified as "high risk" for suicide when leaving inpatient units. Zero Suicide is a national movement sponsored by the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, National Alliance for Suicide Prevention, Suicide Prevention Resource Center and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It is a programmatic approach to keep patients from falling through the cracks in a fragmented and disconnected healthcare system and is based on the belief that suicide is preventable, and suicide deaths are not fated. Since access to mental health services is constrained in our community, patients often fall through the cracks when transitioning between points of care.