Evaluation of Behavioral Health-Virtual Patient Navigation Team (BH-VPN)

Patients who present to one of the participating EDs with a telepsychiatric consult performed will be treated and followed per the behavioral health virtual patient navigation pathway (BH-VPN) or usual care. The BH-VPN is inclusive of several components which will all be consistently applied to patients randomized to the intervention, as well as having access to behavioral health trained patient navigators. These key components are often deployed inconsistently as a part of usual care, but per the intervention, will be completed in totality for subjects who are assigned to and participate in the BH-VPN plan. This study includes a qualitative sub-study to measure perceptions of the impact of the BH-VPN on readmission rates and patient outcomes, experiences with the services provided by the BH-VPN, and provider and clinician ideas for how to improve the services provided by the BH-VPN.