Diagnostic Overshadowing of the Psychiatric Population in the Emergency Department: Physiological Factors Identified for an Early Warning System.

Background: Many people with mental disorders in the United States remain either medically untreated or inadequately treated, which is often attributed to diagnostic overshadowing, a common occurrence across the nation in emergency departments.

Objective: The aim of this research is to create a tool that supports accurate assessment and distinguishing behavioral symptoms between psychiatric illness and coexisting medical conditions in the emergency department, thus leading to appropriate care and placement.

Design: Retrospective cohort design of 133 psychiatric admissions were reviewed between the years 2011 and 2015.