HAMILTON — Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton has expanded its mental and behavioral health services, in part by adding a service in which emergency room patients can have a video consultation with a remote psychiatrist when one is not available on-site.
“There is a shortage of psychiatrists and that is nationally,” said Joyce Schwarz, vice president of quality at RWJ Hamilton. “Regionally, we’re feeling that on the inpatient side.”
The provider of the new telepsychiatry service, Hampton Behavioral Health Center in Westampton, will also be opening its own outpatient facility in Hamilton this fall, the company said. Hampton declined to say where it would be located.
Hampton is providing a full-time psychiatrist and an assessment coordinator for RWJ Hamilton's emergency room as well as the telepsychiatry capabilities, the hospital said.
Using a video hookup, the service allows a patient at RWJ Hamilton to be evaluated by an assessment coordinator at Hampton’s access center, which is available 24 hours a day. The hospital started using the service in March.
“You have a real-time picture where the patient sees the assessment coordinator and the assessment coordinator sees the patient as if they were in the same room,” said Brian Levin, Hampton's director of business development.
After evaluating the patient, the access center coordinates with the emergency room in Hamilton, Schwarz said. The patient may be referred to outpatient care, voluntarily commit to inpatient care, or if the patient is determined to be a risk to themselves or others, may be involuntarily admitted to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton.
Through the partnership with Hampton, RWJ Hamilton's mental health services and response time for patients has improved “exponentially,” Schwarz said.
Contact Kelly Johnson at kjohnson@njtimes.com.
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