Mental Health Providers Need Greater Support in Caring for Patients

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Feb 09, 2023, 09:00 ET

Clinicians identify key challenges to providing mental health care in psychiatric, primary care and emergency care settings

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mental health patients seek care in a variety of medical settings, a new paper from the Alliance for Patient Access explains, but the clinicians there aren't always equipped to meet their needs. Co-authored by three health care providers, "Meeting Mental Health Patients Where They Are" explores how mental health care after the pandemic plays out in primary care, psychiatric and emergency care settings.

The clinician authors agree that new policies and programs are needed to train providers to serve growing mental health needs as the United States emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Challenges

The clinician authors outline three primary challenges:

Lack of mental health training. Clinicians without a traditional psychiatry background often lack specific mental health training.
Utilization management & coverage issues. Utilization management can hinder patients regardless of where they seek care.
Uniform care approaches. Patients need personalized care that addresses their unique needs and condition, not formulaic approaches.

Providers also encounter difficulties when they try to link patients to the appropriate care or provide telemedicine services.

While mental health patients and providers may experience challenges while accessing care, there are policies to combat these barriers. The paper expands on several ways policymakers can improve mental health care. Funding educational opportunities for mental health training, increasing access to telemedicine services and strengthening the broader mental health care network and its resources are all approaches that policymakers may take to improve mental health care.

Clinician Perspectives

"Proper health care addresses the entire patient, not just the symptoms," Jeremy Schreiber, MSN, PHMNP-BC, explains in the paper.
"Most primary care providers receive little or no psychiatric training as part of their formal education," shares Robert McCarron, DO.
Leslie Zun, MD, MBA, highlights that "Before the pandemic, nearly one in 10 emergency department visits was for mental health patients. Since then, the number has only grown."

Read "Meeting Mental Health Patients Where They Are"

About the Alliance for Patient Access
The Alliance for Patient Access is a national network of policy-minded health care providers who advocate for patient-centered care.

SOURCE Alliance for Patient Access