Emergency Departments (ED) have become a known system entry point for pediatric mental health care and are considered a safety net for the lack of inpatient and outpatient mental health services. The ED Compass is a surveillance report that can be used to assist health care planners in recommending policies and allocating resources for children’s mental health care. Using province-wide health care data, the ED Compass describes the type and severity of mental health problems of children and youth as seen in Alberta EDs and the service outcomes of these children and youth following ED care.
This current version of the ED Compass is based on data obtained during the 2002/03 to 2007/08 fiscal years from the Ambulatory Care Classification System, maintained by Alberta Health and Wellness. Specifically, the ED Compass presents information on ED visits for pediatric mental health across the province of Alberta by:
• Gender and age
• Diagnosis
• Socio-economic group
• Region
• Time and date
• Follow-up visits to physicians after ED care
These data can be used to identify:
• The most prevalent types of acute pediatric mental health conditions seen in the ED
• Differences between child and youth groups (for example, differences between
socio-economic groups or gender)
• Health care service utilization trends for acute pediatric mental health conditions
• ED wait times, treatment times, and wait times for physician services following ED care
• Trends in visit rates and follow-up visit rates