Hospitals are ill-equipped to treat behavioral health, ECRI finds

Many hospitals aren't equipped to treat patients with behavioral health needs, but they could do better if they develop a clear vision for caring for those patients, according to a new report released Wednesday.The not-for-profit ECRI Institute Patient Safety Organization found that about half of the 2,400 behavioral health events at hospitals they studied involved patient violence against others, while 81 incidents involved temporary or minor patient harm. "The acute-care units aren't equipped to treat the behavioral health symptoms patients are bringing with them," said Nancy Napolitano, patient safety analyst at the ECRI Institute. "There are few psychiatrists and there are fewer psychiatric beds available. A lot of hospitals have closed their psychiatric units, so a hospital is a