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. 2020 Sep:291:113244.
doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113244. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

A COVID-19 testing and triage algorithm for psychiatric units: One hospital's response to the New York region's pandemic

Benjamin D Brody  1 , Sharon J Parish  2 , Dora Kanellopoulos  2 , Mark J Russ  2
Affiliations

A COVID-19 testing and triage algorithm for psychiatric units: One hospital's response to the New York region's pandemic

Benjamin D Brody et al. Psychiatry Res. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Psychiatric patients are at high risk for contracting COVID-19, and inpatient psychiatric units face substantial risks of institutional outbreaks. Here, the authors describe an algorithm for testing and triage in a large psychiatric facility designed to prevent local COVID-19 transmission. The algorithm is based on expert opinion and clinical experience between March and April of 2020, during which the institution cared for 47 COVID-19 positive psychiatric inpatients. The implementation of the algorithm is designed to mitigate COVID-19 transmission, preserve the safest and least restrictive treatment environment for psychiatric inpatients, and provide a model adaptable to other institutional settings.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest None of the authors report any grant support, other external funding, or other conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1
Algorithm for COVID testing and patient triage in a free-standing psychiatric facility.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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