Prevalence of Behavioral Flags in the Electronic Health Record Among Black and White Patients Visiting the Emergency Department

Key Points Question How often are behavioral flags used in the emergency department (ED), who receives them, and is the presence of flags associated with clinical care? Findings In this cohort study of 426 858 ED visits among 195 691 patients, 683 patients had a behavioral flag (3.5 flags per 1000 patients), with significant differences in presence of a flag noted across age, sex, insurance status, and race. Black patients were flagged at higher rates than White patients (4.0 flags vs 2.4 flags per 1000 patients). Meaning This cohort study found that behavioral flags were infrequently used in the ED, but when they were used, disparities by several patient-level characteristics were noted.

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