Emergency departments (EDs) often serve as the first place where people get help during mental health crises. These crises may include thoughts of suicide, substance use problems, or sudden changes in behavior. Quick evaluation and treatment are needed to lower the chances of hospitalization or worse outcomes. However, many EDs have problems like overcrowding, limited resources, and no immediate access to psychiatric experts.
Telemedicine can help by allowing remote psychiatric evaluations and consultations. For example, Trinity Health-Michigan has a telehealth program that pilots psychiatric assessments in hospitals across Jackson, Livingston, Washtenaw, and Ingham counties. This telemedicine center helps patients get timely evaluations while they wait for care. It also helps with treatment transitions and managing medications. Offering psychiatric services through telehealth lets emergency departments provide needed evaluations without delay, even when specialists are not nearby.
Telemedicine is also used in behavioral health urgent care programs. One example is Common Ground’s Behavioral Health Urgent Care (BHUC) in Michigan. This program offers immediate virtual mental health services across the state. It received $100,000 to improve access and upgrade technology. This helps reach more people and increase the use of services in communities. Telepsychiatry reduces stress on physical facilities and gives more people, especially those in underserved areas, access to care.
Bringing behavioral health into primary and emergency care is becoming more common through new policies and billing rules. In 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated Medicare Physician Fee Schedule codes to support behavioral health integration (BHI) services. These new codes include:
These billing updates encourage emergency and primary care providers to use structured follow-ups and coordinated care plans for behavioral health patients. This improves patient outcomes and keeps care continuous. Coordination is very important to reduce suicide risk and limit repeat visits to emergency rooms.
For example, including a behavioral health care manager and psychiatric consultant in emergency or outpatient settings helps with regularly checking treatment progress and safety plans. Organizations using these models report happier patients and fewer hospital stays for psychiatric emergencies.
Many rural and underserved communities struggle to get mental health care because there are fewer providers and transportation problems. Telemedicine can help by delivering care remotely and flexibly.
One program, the Black-led Mental Health Project in Detroit, works to improve mental health access in Black communities. It creates referral systems and builds up organizational resources. This project has $250,000 to reduce health differences and help providers serve their communities better.
Another example is the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, which got $376,145 to help prevent overdoses in Middle Eastern-North African communities in Michigan. Although the project focuses on substance use, it shows how important outreach and education are in behavioral health. Telemedicine can help support these efforts with virtual visits and follow-up care.
These projects show that technology-based services play an important role in meeting mental health needs for different underserved groups in both cities and rural areas.
Nurses, especially those trained in telemedicine, play a big part in improving mental health care in emergency and other medical settings. Through teletriage, nurses can screen and assess patients remotely. This helps decide who needs urgent care first and guides them to the right resources.
Remote patient monitoring and teleconsultations improve triage accuracy and reduce overcrowding in emergency rooms. Nurses also help with telepsychiatry by organizing virtual visits and giving follow-up care instructions.
Tele-education platforms help train nurses and keep them updated on best practices for mental health care. This training improves patient outcomes.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is used more and more in behavioral health to improve efficiency and cut down paperwork. In emergency settings, AI-driven automation simplifies workflows so providers can spend more time with patients and less on paperwork.
For example, Oakland Family Services in Michigan uses Eleos Health AI software. It helps reduce the time clinicians take to write session notes and manage treatment plans. The AI organizes notes, finds important clinical details, and supports decision-making by making documentation accurate and complete. This reduces burnout and gives clinicians more time with patients.
In emergency departments, AI can help with better patient triage by quickly analyzing data and spotting psychosocial risk factors. Predictive tools that use social determinants of health are being made to find people at high risk for behavioral health crises. This way, care can be targeted before emergencies happen.
AI-powered telehealth platforms also help with coordinated case management. They combine scheduling, reminders, and referral tracking into one system. This creates a closed-loop referral process, making sure patients get timely follow-ups needed for recovery and continuous care.
Also, automated systems help emergency responders by giving access to mental health resources during crisis calls. Programs like SHIFT, which support first responders, can use workflow technologies to offer trauma-informed care guidelines and organize peer support.
Telemedicine in emergency behavioral health helps reduce wait times, gives better access to psychiatric care, and supports ongoing patient engagement after crises. Programs like Michigan Health Endowment Fund show that combining technology with community work can make a difference in underserved populations.
For healthcare leaders and providers in the United States, using telemedicine and AI automation is a useful way to deliver mental health care in emergency settings. By using these tools and new reimbursement rules, emergency departments and behavioral health programs can better meet patient needs, reduce bad outcomes, and manage resources well.
By focusing on telemedicine and behavioral health integration, medical practices can improve how they care for patients with urgent mental health needs in emergency settings across the country.
The AI Integration project by Oakland Family Services aims to reduce administrative burdens within behavioral health services by implementing Eleos Health AI software. This initiative will organize session progress notes to support the clinical workforce, enhance service delivery, and ensure that therapeutic notes and treatment plans are accurate and effective.
The Black-led Mental Health Project seeks to reduce mental health access disparities within Detroit’s Black communities by enhancing the capacity of grantee organizations through collaborative funding efforts. It will establish a closed-loop referral system and support organizations in implementing interventions and enhancing data collection.
Common Ground’s Behavioral Health Urgent Care aims to improve access to mental health services by providing immediate virtual services statewide. The initiative will enhance outreach, invest in technology upgrades, and expand partnerships and educational efforts to boost service utilization.
The Community YouthWell Initiative, conducted by The Corner Health Center, aims to provide mental health support tailored for adolescents through alternative therapy activities that foster supportive relationships. It plans to hire additional health educators and therapists to conduct group and micro sessions in community settings.
Trinity Health-Michigan’s telemedicine hub aims to fill gaps in mental health treatment by offering psychiatric evaluations via telehealth at local hospitals. This project will ensure that patients awaiting care receive necessary medications and timely follow-up appointments.
The NAVIGATE project is designed to reduce psychiatric hospitalizations for young Black and Hispanic adults experiencing their first psychosis episode. It will implement case management, therapy, and support services across multiple organizations in Detroit.
Catholic Human Services’ initiative integrates recovery support staff into emergency response teams to enhance immediate access to mental health and substance use services. It focuses on improving crisis outcomes through the involvement of peer recovery coaches and social workers.
The SHIFT project aims to enhance mental health support for first responders by implementing a trauma-informed approach. It will include developing a resource guide for EMS agencies and facilitating peer support to address the unique challenges faced by these professionals.
The ZERO Overdose Training Program by CNS Healthcare focuses on reducing accidental overdose deaths by training clinical staff in overdose safety planning. This initiative will develop and integrate training into existing operations and electronic health records.
The Behavioral Health Initiative aims to improve access to effective mental health and substance use disorder services across Michigan. It prioritizes innovative care delivery models, multi-sector collaboration, and the integration of technology to enhance care quality and access.
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