Patients in Emergency Departments on involuntary psychiatric holds often undergo extensive routine laboratory tests as partof medical clearance for psychiatric hospitalization. However testing of all patients is frequently low yield.

ED visits for mental health complaints have steadily increased for over two decades, accounting for up to a quarter of alladult ED visits. Patients with mental health complaints have been shown to have longer ED length of stays, and higher rates of repeat visits and admissions.

There is some discrepancy between medical clearance guidelines from different organizations including Psychiatry and Emergency Medicine. In an effort to standardize medical clearance and reduce unnecessary testing, a screening tool was established with the local medical society,Sacramento Sierra Valley Medical Center (SSVMS). The objective here is to characterize a screening tool utilized byour hospital that allows for medical clearances of mental health patients without routine lab testing.