Psychiatric insurance approval takes time in ERs

[riky]

Psychiatric insurance approval takes time in ERs

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors spend about 40 minutes getting approvals from insurance companies to get a psychiatric patient from the emergency room to a hospital bed, according to a new study. In some cases, the researchers found the approval process took more than an hour, which the study's senior author said results in patients being kept in ERs longer and doctors taken away from other duties. "For anyone who works in mental health, this is nothing new," said Dr. J. Wesley Boyd, from the Cambridge Health Alliance and Boston's Harvard Medical School. ...

Source: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login