Erick H Cheung

Erick H Cheung serves as a Health Sciences (HS) Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. His clinical and academic work focuses on the intersection of emergency psychiatry, medical ethics, and healthcare policy, with particular expertise in involuntary treatment protocols and mental competency assessments.

Dr. Cheung's research spans critical areas including:

• Implementation of medical incapacity hold policies to reduce inappropriate psychiatric holds
• Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response protocols for behavioral health emergencies
• Shared decision-making frameworks in inpatient psychiatric settings
• Ethical implications of neurotechnology in psychiatric practice

His publication timeline shows consistent scholarly activity from 2009 through 2024, with recent work emphasizing quality improvement initiatives in academic medical centers and crisis follow-up systems for suicidal patients.

Key scientific contributions include:

• Development of Los Angeles County's EMS performance improvement initiative for behavioral health emergencies (2024)
• Creation of evidence-based medical incapacity hold protocols adopted by multiple academic medical centers
• Pioneering work on the ethical application of neurotechnology in psychiatric practice

Dr. Cheung maintains active collaborations with UCLA colleagues including Kenneth Wells, Jonathan Heldt, and Thomas Strouse, focusing on systems-level interventions to improve psychiatric care delivery. His work bridges clinical practice, policy development, and medical ethics with direct applications in emergency departments and community mental health systems.