Interview Themes Sample Clauses

Interview Themes. The interview discussions explored the informants’ perceptions about the care of patients in mental health crisis in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The themes that emerged included the following: • The state that patients are in when they arrive in the ED, • The lack of community services for indigent and Medicaid patients, • Whether the closing of HPLMC increased the number of patients in mental health crisis seeking care at RRMC, and • The barriers to accessing community-based, mental health services in Rapides Parish. a. The state that patients are in when they arrive in the ED The informants agreed that many patients who arrive in the ED suffering from mental and/behavioral health issues are either brought in by families, the police, or come in voluntarily. Upon presenting to the ED, many of these patients are depressed, suicidal, psychotic, and many are also suffering from co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Many of these patients come to the RRMC ED because they are indigent and homeless and have no other place to go to get their medications. At least one informant acknowledged that some patients may be insured, but are not able to access mental health treatment through a primary care physician in the community because of the shortage of primary care physicians or the primary care physician’s unwillingness to treat mental health disorders. b. The lack of community services for indigent and Medicaid patients All of the participants overwhelmingly agreed that although there are a few community- based services for those in mental health crisis in Rapides, they are very limited, particularly for the indigent and those that receive Medicaid. At this time, there is only 1 community-based provider in Rapides Parish that accepts indigent and Medicaid patients, if openings are available. The only other publicly funded option for outpatient and inpatient mental health services in Rapides Parish was Central State Hospital, a state owned and operated mental health facility. Unfortunately, that facility is now closed. According to the participants, the greatest improvement that could be made to improve the care of the target population is to provide follow-up care through community-based, mental and behavioral health services for homeless, indigent, and Medicaid patients. If these services were provided, it is believed that the number of patients that utilize the ED for mental and behavioral health treatment would diminish significantly. Another suggestion for ca...