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Faroukh M. Mehkri is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Texas SW Medical Center as well as a SWAT physician with the Dallas Police Department. He recently presented a session at the in Dallas, 鈥淢anagement of the acutely agitated behavioral health emergency: A patrol nightmare.鈥�
In this edition of EMS One-Stop, Host Rob Lawrence chats with Dr. Mehkri about his lecture and his 15-month deep dive into behavioral health emergency patients, their outcomes, the situations surrounding the calls, and both police and EMS interventions.
Dr. Mehkri delivers key takeaways for both a police and EMS audience:
- Words matter, in your documentation and on your body camera
- Physical restraint kills 鈥� so we must minimize this activity
- Chemical sedation for medication management saves. 鈥淚nviting鈥� the medic to 鈥渏ust give them something鈥� is a slippery slope
- Monitor, monitor, monitor
- The person is the patient!
Read more about treating behavioral emergencies
- Excited delirium: Understanding the evolution away from a controversial term
- Expert tips for EMS handling of behavioral emergencies
- Reel Emergency Vodcast: Patient with agitated behavior
- The fourth 911 option: Mental health services
- Quick Take: 988 and the future of crisis response
This article was originally posted Oct. 31, 2022. It has been updated.
