Unmet needs and hassles of psychiatric practice
Few things are more aggravating than having to secure preauthorization from an insurance company to hospitalize an acutely ill patient or to prescribe a medication that is not on the insurer’s restrictive formulary.
More resources. There is a dire need for psychiatric hospital beds in many parts of the country, because many wards were closed and renovated into more profitable, procedure-oriented specialties. There also is a severe shortage of psychiatrists in our country, as I discussed in my editorial, “Signs, symptoms, and treatment of psychiatrynemia,” (December 2014). The 25% of the population who suffer a mental disorder are clearly underserved at this time.
Furthermore, because today’s research is tomorrow’s new treatment, funding for psychiatric research must increase substantially to find cures and to thus reduce huge direct and indirect costs of mental illness and addictions.
Public enlightenment. A well-informed populace would be a major boon to our sophisticated medical specialty, which remains shrouded by primitive beliefs and archaic attitudes. For many people who desperately need mental health care, negative perceptions of psychiatric disorders and their treatment are a major impediment to seeking help. Psychiatrists can catalyze the process of enlightenment by dedicating time to elevating public understanding of the biology and the medical basis of mental illness.
All this notwithstanding, our work is gratifying
Despite the hassles and unmet needs I’ve enumerated, psychiatry continues to be one of the most exciting fields in medicine. We provide more therapeutic face-time and verbal interactions with our patients than any other medical specialty. Imagine, then, how much more enjoyable psychiatric practice would be if these pesky obstacles were eliminated and the unmet needs of patients and practitioners were addressed.
