Patient and Health Care Provider Experiences With Suicide-Related Tele–Mental Health Evaluations in the Emergency Department: Multiphase Qualitative Study

Given current shortages in behavioral health care, emergency tele-mental health evaluations could provide an opportunity to reduce wait times and support the delivery of best practice suicide-related care. However, their implementation has the potential to exacerbate existing issues related to patient autonomy, therapeutic alliance, and care transitions. Our study contributes to filling a gap in knowledge related to patient and health care provider experiences of this telehealth service and describes factors that impact implementation, which may inform future care advances by clinicians and administrators.