American Association for Emergency Psychiatry Recommendations to Address Psychiatric Staff Shortages in Emergency Settings.

Objective: The psychological sequelae of the COVID-19 crisis will increase demands for psychiatric care in already strained emergency and mental health systems. To address the shortage of psychiatrists (and nurse practitioners and physician assistants) in emergency settings (ESs), the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry (AAEP) has established recommendations for utilizing nonprescribing mental health professionals in the evaluation and management of psychiatric patients in these contexts.

Methods: Faced with limited research on the roles and competencies of nonprescribing psychiatric emergency clinicians (PECs), a multidisciplinary committee of members of AAEP was tasked with developing recommendations for use of PECs.