Crisis Management System to Support the 988 Suicide Lifeline

Healthcare technology solutions company Bamboo Health has developed a behavioral and mental health crisis system designed to support the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and improve care delivery. The solution is currently live in two states, and more states will be launching the system in the coming months.

Mental health in the US has become a growing population and public health concern in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic served to exacerbate these concerns further. During the pandemic, patient demand for mental healthcare surged, but access barriers persisted for many patients seeking care.

The federally mandated 988 hotline is one attempt to improve the American behavioral and mental health crisis care system, designed to transform the system as 911 did for emergency medical services. The three-digit number was officially launched in July as an easier-to-remember alternative to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Individuals can call, text, or chat 988 during a behavioral or mental health crisis to be routed to the nearest local crisis center to receive help, including crisis counseling, resources and referrals, or mobile crisis unit dispatch. However, concerns about crisis center capacity and hotline usage, which is expected to triple within the first year.

According to the press release, Bamboo Health’s Crisis Management System is set to support these regional call centers by enhancing the digital intake, assessment, and dispatch processes. Using the solution, staff can more easily see and dispatch mobile care units and coordinate crisis care in real time.

The system’s framework was built based on an existing platform to track availability of behavioral health and substance use treatment facilities by monitoring inpatient beds and outpatient appointments. Using this framework, the Crisis Management System is set to support improved behavioral and mental health interventions and help keep individuals from reentering the crisis care continuum, the press release notes.

The mental health crisis has disproportionately impacted youth and minority groups in the US, leading to increased incidences of anxiety, depression, grief, and suicide. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10 to 34 year olds, and is the tenth leading cause of deaths overall in the US, according to the CDC.

 Recent data also indicate that suicide rates have spiked over the past decade, especially among people of color. Between 2010 and 2020, suicide death rates climbed rapidly, with Black Americans seeing the highest increase of 43 percent. American Indian or Alaska Native people had a 41 percent increase saw the highest suicide rate at 23.9 per 100,000 individuals.

These increases have coincided with widening gaps in mental health treatment and worsening disparities in mental health outcomes. Racial and ethnic minorities have faced higher infection and death rates, along with worse overall health outcomes throughout the pandemic, and mental health outcomes paralleled these disparities.

In a recent study measuring mental health burden in the US and UK, researchers found that in the US, Black participants were 16 times more likely to screen positive for depression than White participants. They observed a similar trend for Hispanic participants, who were 1.23 times more likely to screen positive for depression compared to their White counterparts. Results for Black and Asian participants in the UK mirrored these findings.