Is access to crisis teams associated with changes in behavioral health mortality?

Behavioral health-related mortality-deaths from suicide, drug overdose, and acute alcohol injury-are leading causes of death among US adults. Crisis teams, trained behavioral health professionals who serve as first responders to assess and stabilize clients in crisis, as well as refer to treatment as necessary, have been shown to reduce psychiatric hospitalizations, but whether crisis teams reduce behavioral health mortality has not been studied. We assessed the association between changes in access to crisis team programs and changes in county-level suicide, drug overdose, and acute alcohol injury mortality from 2014 through 2019. We found that 250 (9%) of counties experienced crisis team program entry and another 237 (9%) experienced crisis team program closure. Access to crisis team programs was associated with significant changes in county-level drug overdose deaths, but not suicide or acute alcohol injury. Compared with counties with no change in access, crisis team program entry was associated with a 7% reduction in county-level drug overdose death rates, and crisis team program closure was associated with a 13% increase in drug overdose death rates. These findings may support the use of crisis teams as 1 intervention to address substance use disorder treatment gaps in the United States.