USA Today recently reported that demand for psychiatrists is climbing faster than for any other medical specialty. From April 2009 to March 2010, the company Merritt Hawkins received 179 requests for psychiatrists — a 47% increase from the previous year and 121% increase from the 2006-2007 survey.
There are concerns that supply of psychiatry trainees is not keeping pace with the increased demand. Shankar Yalamanchili, a psychiatrist with River Region Psychiatry in Montgomery, Ala., says doctors who perform medical procedures make more money than psychiatrists who converse with patients. He said "I get paid more for treating a zit than I get for sitting down for half an hour talking to a patient."
Kurt Mosley, Merritt Hawkins' vice president of strategic services, says it's "the perfect storm right now" as more than half of all psychiatrists age 55 and older are nearing retirement, and there aren't enough physicians to take their spots. The lack of psychiatrists in Iowa has been so bad that several hospitals have had to close their inpatient psychiatric care units, says Scott Lindsley, operations director for Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Kurt Mosley, Merritt Hawkins' vice president of strategic services, says it's "the perfect storm right now" as more than half of all psychiatrists age 55 and older are nearing retirement, and there aren't enough physicians to take their spots. The lack of psychiatrists in Iowa has been so bad that several hospitals have had to close their inpatient psychiatric care units, says Scott Lindsley, operations director for Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
5 comments:
its enough to drive you mad.. ( thats an attempt at being funny...ahah!)
Interesting to see the impact of the current state of our medical system. I wonder if this is a result of Obama care? Nevertheless, it is sad to see that the experienced professionals are leaving the field to young and overly enthusiast members of the medical profession. I unfortunately do not know how to comment toward this situation. Will the enthusiasm lead to greater patient care, or, a higher rate of misdiagnosis? On another note, could this possibly lead to a situation similar to the education system in the US: too many students and too little time? Check out my blog page; I would love to get some discussion going about this topic! http://meyouusnews.blogspot.com/
Well.. considering there's so much happening write now in our country with all financial crisis and pressure that most people are facing i am not surprise see such demand for more psychiatrists in the US.
This trend has been going on for a very long time. Don't blame Obama for stuff like this! State mental health parity laws may have something to do with it, as well as a so so federal law that is weaker than many state laws about care. I think low respect and low rates of reimbursement are primary culprits, though.
Maybe the increased demand is a good thing meaning that people are becoming more educated and aware of problems with their mental health and overcoming the old stigma which made them feel it should be something to be ashamed of.
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