Who Pays?

There is a shortage of psychiatrists in most of the hospitals serving American vets in much of the country's VA hospitals. According to information released by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Montana veterans wait an average of five weeks to begin counseling. Experts report that the effects of war show an increase of Post Traumatic Syndrome since 2000.

The VA has at least a 20% shortage of psychiatrists in hospital in the Northwest, Southern states and California.

It is difficult to attract psychiatrists to rural areas and states in which the cost of living is high is a problem which persists even in private hospitals. The VA relies on psychiatric nurses or physician assistants in VA hospitals. Veterans who start therapy at nearly a third of VA hospitals wait longer 14 days to receive treatment by psychiatrists. Some of the longest wait times for one-on-one psychiatric can be on an average 37 days such as in some hospitals in Alabama and parts of Florida.

There is a national shortage of psychiatrists fewer medical school students have applied for psychiatry residencies and the majority of practicing psychiatrists are 55 or older. In psychiatry nearly 55% are in this age bracket, making it the second oldest group of physicians. The low rate of medical school graduates choosing psychiatry is partly to blame for this fact.

There is a need for ways to attract young medical students to the field of psychiatry to meet patients’ mental health needs. Patients are relying on their primary care doctors for treatment of disorders b est treated by a professional in the field; these doctors are not adequately trained for treating disorders of the mind.

With the number of people with mental disorders seeking treatment and others who are mandated by the courts the need for specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders has become critical. It is virtually impossible to predict when or who a mental illness will strike critical care occurs and often the only resort family or law enforcement persons has is a trip to the local emergency room and/or hospitalization. Often the person ends up in a homeless shelter or jail. With the dire need for treatment many patients are being misdiagnosed or medicated incorrectly due to the shortage of trained personnel.

Everyone has the right to prompt and adequate care without psychiatrists the gaps in relieving the symptoms of a major mental disorder is being denied to everyone in need and on the whole society pays.