Inpatient Psychiatric Admission of a Durable Left Ventricular Assist Device Recipient: Multidisciplinary Care Plan and Policy Framework

Psychiatric comorbidities are increasingly common among patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and are associated with adverse outcomes. Access to inpatient psychiatric care for these patients is limited due to their specialized care needs, lack of staff training and hospital protocols, and regulatory requirements. We present a case of a patient with an LVAD and severe depression requiring inpatient psychiatric hospitalization treated at our center. We outline a multidisciplinary framework for staff training, patient monitoring, and regulatory compliance that allows for safe and effective patient care in the inpatient psychiatry unit. This framework can serve as a model for other centers to expand access to inpatient psychiatric care for this underserved population.