In continuing coverage, Medscape (1/14, Melville) reports that a report from Mental Health America called “Parity or Disparity, the State of Mental Health in America 2015” reveals a “significant shortage of psychiatrists” in the US, particularly for youngsters, a need that will only increase under the Affordable Care Act. Renee Binder, MD, president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association, said, “The country will need an additional 30,000 child psychiatrists to meet the needs generated by the expanded coverage under the ACA, and we currently only have 8000, so we need to triple the number of child psychiatrists.”
Meanwhile, “the APA has been promoting new systems of collaborative care, with psychiatrists working together with other specialties, including primary care [clinicians] and pediatricians,” she added.
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