The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has updated its statewide online mental health bed registry to provide hourly updates and integrate the system with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
The Behavioral Health Statewide Central Availability Navigator, known as BH SCAN, previously relied on manual updates from hospital staff once per day. The new Automated Bed Availability function now provides real-time data on available mental health beds to providers and hospitals across the state, according to a March 12 news release from the health department.
The system currently provides information on more than 3,500 mental healthcare beds across 112 facilities. It also gives visibility into 80% of North Carolina’s approximately 3,200 inpatient psychiatric beds statewide.
Since launching in January 2023, BH SCAN has expanded to support hospitals, providers and 42 county Department of Social Services offices that can use the system to make referrals.
State officials said the automated update feature led to a 1,400% increase in bed updates per day. North Carolina plans to expand the system to all providers by early 2027, the release said.
