TeamHealth, Array Behavioral Care Partner to Improve Emergency Behavioral Health Treatment
TeamHealth is a physician-led practice and a virtual array of behavioral care for psychiatry and therapeutic practices that has been shared with MedCity News to improve emergency mental health care.
TeamHealth's practice in Knoxville, Tennessee includes 19,000 affiliated physicians, senior practicing clinicians, and members of the operations team. It has partnerships with over 2500 emergency hospitals and post-acute facilities to help them provide the department with an emergency medicine specialty. Chicago-based Array Behavioral Care works with hospitals, health systems, community organizations and payers to provide psychiatry and treatment.
Through partnerships, TeamHealth clinicians work in the emergency room of their hospital partners. TeamHealth will connect with array psychiatrists for virtual assessment, treatment and disposal recommendations when patients meet emergency departments for behavioral health care needs.
“Through a partnership with Array Behavioral Care, we combine professional virtual psychiatric care with the key field expertise of TeamHealth clinicians in the emergency department,” said Dr. Jody Crane, Chief Medical Officer of TeamHealth in an email. “This collaboration streamlines behavioral health treatment, relieves stress on ED resources, and provides special care.”
The partnership is a temporary visit for adults and children as emergency visits related to mental health increases. More than half of acute care facilities do not have dedicated psychiatry resources, including on-site psychiatrists or inpatient psychiatry units.
Dr. Sara Gotheridge, chief medical officer of Array Behavioral Care, said the collaboration is designed to address these issues.
“We have established this partnership because the nationwide EDS faces a huge conflict in the demand for mental health care,” Gotheridge said in an email. “Individuals in crisis are often waiting for hours or days in crowded ED without timely, professional care because this higher patient volume slows down the entire treatment process. This is not only a clinical problem; it is a systemic and affects outcomes, clinician health and hospital efficiency.”
She added that Array behavioral care options partner with TeamHealth because it is “a validation leader in emergency medicine with a clear focus on clinical quality and patient-centered care.”
Meanwhile, TeamHealth chose array behavioral care as a partner because it has over 25 years of experience and uses an evidence-based model that incorporates 40 clinical and operational data points, Crane said. Array's psychiatrists also act as an extension of our on-site ED team, providing timely consultation, thorough assessment and clear documentation. This can enhance decision-making, mitigate risks and improve patient mobility,” Crane added.
The two companies refused to share financial details of their relationship.
According to Gotheridge, these companies want to reduce preventable ED utilization and unnecessary readmissions and connect people with appropriate community or home care.
“We have a central goal to achieve: to ensure that every behaviorally healthy patient in ED gets the right care at the right time, at the right dose,” Gotheridge said. “This means expert evaluation, compassionate crisis stability and clear pathways to care that enables long-term success for patients. We also want to support ED clinicians. They are under great pressure and may struggle to manage their cases effectively.”
Photos: metorworks, Getty Images
