Standard Emergency Process

Help Skills
Emergency
Standard Emergency Process
Additional Information
Brief Intervention
Psychosocial therapy
Screening Resources (4-11 years old)
Screening Resources (12-18 years old)
Medication
Follow-up Care
Referral to Mental Health Professional
Referral to Community Resource

Standard Emergency Process
A standard emergency process should be developed and implemented with input from clinicians, nurses, office staff members, and ideally a mental health professional. At a minimum, an emergency process should include the following:

Shared definition of what constitutes an emergency
How emergencies present in different settings (eg, telephone triage, in-person appointment, virtual visit)
A practice wide understanding of how privacy and confidentiality rules apply in emergency situations
A triage process to identify the level of risk, disposition, and transportation plan (if applicable)
Resources tailored to the child’s disposition
Follow-up plan (even if the patient is sent to the emergency department or admitted)
Information about local and national resources and emergency lines, such as the 988 Suicide and CrisisLifeline
Safety planning and lethal means counseling