Objectives To assess: (1) the prevalence of mental health and substance use in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) through use of a computer adaptive test (CAT‐MH), (2) the correlation among CAT‐MH scores and self‐ and clinician‐reported assessments, and (3) the association between CAT‐MH scores and ED utilization in the year prior and 30 days after enrollment. Methods This was a single‐center observational study of adult patients presenting to the ED for somatic complaints (97%) from May 2019 to March 2020. The main outcomes were computer‐adaptive‐assessed domains of suicidality, depression, anxiety, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use. We conducted Pearson correlations and logistic regression for objectives 2 and 3, respectively. Results From a sample of 794 patients, the proportion of those at moderate/severe risk was: 24.1% (suicidality), 8.3% (depression), 16.5% (anxiety), 12.3% (PTSD), and 20.4% (substance use). CAT‐MH domains were highly correlated with self‐report assessments (r = 0.49–0.79). Individuals who had 2 or more ED visits in the prior year had 62% increased odds of being in the intermediate‐high suicide risk category (odds ratio [OR], 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–2.44) compared to those with zero prior ED visits. Individuals who scored in the intermediate‐high‐suicide risk group had 63% greater odds of an ED visit within 30 days after enrollment compared to those who scored as low risk (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.09, 2.44). Conclusion The CAT‐MH documented that a considerable proportion of ED patients presenting for somatic problems had mental health conditions, even if mild. Mental health problems were also associated with ED utilization.

Study Objective: To assess the prevalence of several impairing behavioral health domains in stable patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) through the use of computer adaptive testing and the association among the domains, standard assessments, and ED utilization. Methods: This was a single-center observational study of 828 randomly selected adult patients presenting to the ED from May 2019 to March 2020. The main outcomes of interest were the self-administered, validated computer adaptive assessments of suicidality, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance abuse using computer adaptive testing, the CAT-MHTM. We estimated the association among the CAT-MHTM subscales, standard assessments, and the number of ED visits in the year prior and 30 days after enrollment. Results: The proportion of those who scored above the threshold of low/mild risk were: 24.1% (suicidality), 8.3% (depression), 16.5% (anxiety), 12.3% (PTSD), and 20.4% (substance use). While the CAT-MHTM subscales were highly correlated with other self-report assessments, they were not highly associated with standard ED assessments of suicidality. When examining associations with ED use, for example, individuals who had two or more ED visits in the prior year had 51% increased odds of being in the intermediate-high suicide risk category (95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.03-2.23) compared to those with zero prior ED visits. Conclusion: The CAT-MHTM can document the high prevalence of mental health conditions in the ED, which were missed by standard ED practices. Mental health problems are associated with ED utilization in a population of patients presenting largely for somatic complaints.