Emergency Mental Health Services in ERs
When mental health emergencies arise, emergency departments need rapid, reliable support. FasPsych’s emergency mental health services connect your emergency room (ER) staff with licensed psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners for immediate, on-demand care—anytime, day or night.
Telepsychiatry Helps ER Teams Respond to Psychiatric Crises
Our emergency mental health service providers conduct virtual evaluations in real time, helping your team quickly assess, stabilize, and treat patients in crisis. When clinically appropriate, they can e-prescribe medications to help manage acute symptoms and support de-escalation.
Each consultation is fully documented within your electronic medical record (EMR) system, including clinical impressions, prescriptions, and clear recommendations for discharge or inpatient admission. This integrated approach reduces administrative burden for your ER staff, saving time and improving patient flow without compromising quality of care.
Our On-Call Psychiatry Network
FasPsych provides 24/7 access to on-call psychiatrists and other psychiatric professionals who can offer on-call coverage. Our extensive network of expert psychiatrists and clinicians helps your clinic deliver comprehensive mental health care services whenever and wherever they’re needed.
Our mental health providers are independently licensed and have extensive experience in various clinical settings. We also handle licensing and credentialing to ensure that all providers meet your state’s requirements, allowing for seamless, compliant psychiatric care within your organization.
Available providers include:
- APRNs
- PMHNPs
- PNPs
- Psychiatrists
Choose How to Deliver Mental Health Crisis Care
On-demand psychiatric consultations can be provided via telephone or video. With fast access to a provider, patients can get the critical care they need, helping to defuse crisis situations in the ER.
Telephone Consults
- The attending ER physician and our provider review the patient’s presenting symptoms and treatment options, via the telephone.
- Our provider issues a summary of the consultation at the conclusion of the call.
Video Consults
- The attending ER physician requests a video consultation with their telepsychiatric provider, and a time for the video consult is set.
- The video consult is facilitated by our provider, assisted by ER personnel.
- The consulting provider sends a written evaluation to the ER physician once the consult is concluded. They may also enter it into your hospital EHR, depending on preference.
How Your Emergency Department Can Use On-Demand Psychiatry Services
With FasPsych’s on-demand telepsychiatry services, your emergency department can deliver rapid, high-quality psychiatric care, helping your team respond to behavioral health crises with confidence and without disrupting existing workflows. Our services are designed to integrate seamlessly into your ED operations, providing timely support when it matters most.
Psychiatric Triage
We work with ER departments across the country to provide on-demand telepsychiatric providers. This way, we can help ER personnel respond to psychiatric crises quickly and effectively. To learn more about how we can support your emergency department, get in touch with our team now.
Psychiatric Evaluations
A licensed FasPsych provider conducts a comprehensive telepsychiatric evaluation to assess the patient’s mental health status and recommend next steps. Our clinicians are skilled in evaluating psychiatric concerns, ensuring your patients receive the care they need without delay.
Psychiatric Treatment
After the virtual session, the provider will relay findings and treatment recommendations to your ED team. All documentation, including clinical notes and billing details, is entered into your electronic medical record system (EMR), supporting seamless care coordination and discharge planning.
Benefits of Virtual ER Crisis Care
Virtual psychiatric care in emergency departments helps bridge critical service gaps, offering timely mental health support when in-person providers aren’t available. With FasPsych’s telepsychiatry model, ED teams can stabilize patients faster and improve care coordination.
- Faster access to psychiatric evaluations
- 24/7 availability
- Reduced ED boarding times
- Improved patient outcomes
- Cost-effective staffing
- Integrated documentation
- Enhanced provider support
What Customers Say About FasPsych
Frequently Asked Questions About ER Mental Health Crisis Services
When someone arrives at the emergency room with a mental health emergency, the hospital initiates a behavioral health crisis assessment. With telehealth support, licensed mental health professionals or psychiatrists conduct a remote crisis intervention to evaluate the patient’s symptoms, safety risks, and immediate treatment needs. This may include a psychiatric evaluation, suicide risk assessment, and discussion of recent behaviors or substance use. Based on findings, patients may be referred for mental health treatment, admitted for short-term stabilization, or discharged with community-based support services.
A mental health crisis is any situation where a person’s behavior puts them at risk of harming themselves or others, or prevents them from functioning safely in daily life. Examples include suicidal or homicidal ideation, severe depression or anxiety, psychosis, acute substance abuse or withdrawal, and violent or erratic behavior. Crises can also involve individuals with developmental disabilities or co-occurring conditions that overwhelm their typical coping mechanisms.
While our focus is on delivering timely, expert telepsychiatric care in emergency departments, we understand that some situations require in-person crisis response. In these situations, we can staff on-site contracts. We can also help facilitate connections with local crisis lines, community resources, and human services agencies that provide in-person mental health services when needed. Our providers also collaborate with local health systems to ensure warm referral handoffs to outpatient, inpatient, or community-based wellness programs.
Telepsychiatry brings licensed mental health professionals directly into the ER setting via secure video. This reduces wait times for psychiatric evaluations, supports overburdened health professionals, and helps ensure proper triage of mental illness, substance use disorder, and dual-diagnosis cases. Our providers can provide treatment recommendations, medication recommendations, and suggestions for the level of care needed, such as whether inpatient admission is appropriate. Telepsychiatry guides family members and ensures patients receive appropriate support services or referrals for prevention services and long-term care.
Following a telepsychiatry session, the mental health provider offers clear recommendations to ER staff. Depending on the situation, this may involve discharge planning, outreach to local services, suicide prevention programs, or hospitalization for stabilization. In all cases, the goal is to connect patients with the most appropriate mental health services for their ongoing recovery and wellness.
For non-ER situations, individuals can contact their local crisis hotline, the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or their community’s crisis response team. These services are staffed by trained professionals who can help determine if ER-level care is needed or guide individuals to community-based mental health treatment, outreach, or support programs tailored to their needs.
Simple, Flexible Payment Options
We offer a variety of pricing plans, so you can choose the best option for your organization. Plus, you simply pay for the actual hours and services you use—no retaining fees. Contact us now to learn more about our on-demand psychiatry services.