The Advantages of the Psychiatric Triage Unit
DAVID J. MULLER M.D.1
1 Adams County Team Leader, Fort Logan Mental Health Center, 3520 W. Oxford Ave., Denver. Colo. 80236
A psychiatric triage unit is economical and efficient in treating large numbers of patients with a small number of staff members. While such programs usually have a high turnover in personnel, they allow for the rapid treatment of many patients and, when necessary, good use of other community mental health facilities. The author describes a small psychiatric triage unit in Texas where out of about 2,000 admissions a year, only 13 percent required referral to longer-term hospitals.
