Delaware Children’s Hospital to Leverage BH-Works for Suicide Prevention Effort in ED

The mdlogix team has partnered with Nemours/ Alfred I. Dupont Hospital for Children to provide behavioral health screening and support services to patients (ages 14 and up) seeking treatment in the emergency department. This effort is supported by Project SAFETY, a suicide prevention initiative funded by SAMHSA, which targets youth ages 10-24 across Delaware. The program assists in implementing screening in a variety of settings including middle and high schools, university health centers, hospital emergency departments, primary care offices, juvenile detention centers, and the state’s 24-7 mobile crisis service.

The BH-Works web-based platform, accessible on a tablet or mobile device, is ideal for clinical and non-clinical organizations wishing to integrate behavioral health services into existing workflows. The platform provides tools for behavioral health screening, patient management, provider education, population health analytics, and outcomes reporting. It can also build care teams across institutional boundaries, addressing social determinants and other issues that affect the lives of people with behavioral health problems.

The mdlogix and Nemours/Alfred I. duPont teams have been working closely to develop a new screening workflow ideal for fast-paced settings like emergency departments and primary care offices. When the patient is first admitted to the ED, a Best Practice Alert is sent in the EMR, notifying a nurse that the patient needs to complete the BH-Works Behavioral Health Screen (BHS). The nurse then meets with the patient and scans a tablet to the barcode on the patient’s ID wristband, initiating the electronic screen on the device. Once the patient completes the BHS on the tablet, the results are automatically generated and sent to the EMR. Clinicians can then review this information and decide on appropriate care pathways, including support from an on-site social worker if necessary.

Suicide prevention efforts in emergency departments and primary care offices can proactively address behavioral health issues in adolescents before they progress to adulthood, and early identification and intervention can position these teens for healthy and successful futures. The mdlogix team is always honored to partner with organizations willing to invest in the future of their communities, and we look forward to working with this innovative institution.