VHAN Behavioral Health Consult Line Helps Physicians Build their Capacity
When a teenage boy was suspended from school for creating a drawing with dark subject matter, Timothy Eidson, MD, a pediatric primary care provider at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, considered sending him to the emergency department (ED). The boy had also disclosed depression and passive suicidal ideation during the exam, and Dr. Eidson wanted to connect him to help as quickly as possible. Hoping to find an alternative to the ED, he reached out to the VHAN Pediatric Behavioral Consult Line for an urgent consultation.
It was the right decision. Read the full article to see how the consult line, which offers real-time phone consultations by a licensed clinical social worker to help manage patients’ mental health needs, helped get the teen into a partial hospitalization program that brought much-needed relief.