Virtual crisis care: How real-time telemedicine counseling can improve outcomes and conserve resources

The nation’s mental health crisis is taking a serious toll on first responders. Real-time access to a virtual behavioral health professional can aid de-escalation efforts, avoid involuntary committals and save law enforcement resources.

Estimates show that up to 20 percent of police calls involve a mental health or substance use crisis, and that number appears to be growing over time. With the ongoing opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic contributing to an increase in mental health crises across the country, law enforcement agencies are feeling the pressure since they are often the first responder to these crises.

When law enforcement is called to respond, the mental health situations they encounter vary each time. Depression rates have tripled since the start of the pandemic, public health researchers state, while suicidal ideation is also on the rise. At the same time, access to consistent, affordable mental health care is only available to a small proportion of Americans, leaving law enforcement to close the gaps in an unsustainable system.

According to a recent survey, more than 80 percent of long-term law enforcement veterans said they have seen an increase in mental health issues over the course of their careers. A similar number reported that the total amount of time spent on mental health-related calls has risen significantly over time, due in part to the fact that these calls often take much longer than traffic calls, larceny reports, domestic disputes and other common situations.

The need for more mental health intervention training is well documented, but agency resources are scarce, and officers cannot be expected to act as fully qualified clinicians in addition to performing their other duties. A result is often a high number of involuntary committals that consume an extraordinary amount of time, peoplepower and money.

While law enforcement agencies should be commended for doing whatever it takes to ensure individuals get immediate access to mental health care, they need a better way to solve the problem. This is where telemedicine is starting to close the gap.

With telemedicine mental health crisis management, law enforcement officers can use a telemedicine tablet to connect with a trained counselor, who can thoroughly assess the situation and make informed recommendations about the next steps. This approach has been proven to avoid unnecessary involuntary committals—improving the outcomes for the individual in crisis—while significantly reducing time and effort for law enforcement staff.

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