ED-as-a-first-contact-for-MHA-for-CY - Health Quality Ontario (HQO)

INDICATOR NAME

Name

Emergency Department as a First Contact for a Mental Health and Addictions (for children and youth)

Alternate Name

Percentage of children and youth 0 to 24 years old who did not receive mental health care from a family doctor, pediatrician or psychiatrist in the two years preceding a visit to the emergency department for a mental illness or addiction

INDICATOR DESCRIPTION

Description

This indicator measures the percentage of children and youth who did not receive mental health care from a family doctor, paediatrician or psychiatrist over the preceding two years, among children and youth aged 0 to 24 years who visited the emergency department for a mental illness or addiction.

HQO Reporting tool/product

Public reporting

Dimension

Timely

Type

Outcome

DEFINITION AND SOURCE INFORMATION

Unit of Measurement

Percentage

Calculation Methods

Numerator divided by the denominator times 100

Numerator (short description i.e. not inclusions/exclusions)

Number of children and youth (0 to 24 years) without any mental health and addictions (MHA)- related service contact in a 2 year look back period; includes only those who did not have an MHA-related outpatient visit to a psychiatrist, paediatrician or a general practitioner/family physician or an MHA-related emergency department (ED) visit (scheduled or unscheduled) or an MHA-related hospitalization in the 2 years preceding the index ED visit

Denominator (short description i.e. not inclusions/exclusions)

Number of children and youth with an incident (first in a calendar year) unscheduled emergency department visit for MHA

Adjustment (risk, age/sex standardization)- generalized

Age and sex standardized

Data Source

Discharge Abstract Database (DAD), National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS), Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) Claims History Database, Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS), Registered Persons Database (RPDB)

Data provided to HQO by

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)

Reported Levels of comparability /stratifications (defined)

Age, Income, Region, Rurality, Sex

OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION

Caveats and Limitations

Limitations include potential coding errors and a lack of clinical detail. The data does not capture MHA-related care provided in the community by non-physicians (e.g., nurse practitioners, psychologists, and social workers).