First aid kit
|

Link – What’s the Answer to the Shortage of Mental Health Care Providers?

These numbers are daunting, but I am glad to see organizations trying to respond to this situation on multiple fronts. It’s going to take a lot more than just training a few more mental health care providers. We need to embrace multiple possible options.

Troubling Numbers But Hopeful Answers

The numbers are indeed troubling:

  • More than half of U.S. counties have zero psychiatrists, according to a 2016 Health Affairs report.
  • About 111 million people live in “mental health professional shortage” areas, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Two-thirds of primary care physicians report difficulty referring patients for mental health care, twice the number reported for any other specialty, according to the journal Health Affairs.
  • The number of patients going to emergency departments for psychiatric services over a recent three-year period increased 42 percent, the National Council for Behavioral Health reports.

https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2018-05-25/whats-the-answer-to-the-shortage-of-mental-health-care-providers

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.