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Psychiatrist shortage in Michigan causes issues for MH access
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32933
Subject(s) - workgroup , economic shortage , mental health , citation , state (computer science) , mental health care , library science , psychiatry , psychology , medicine , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , government (linguistics) , computer network , algorithm
The psychiatrist shortage in Michigan is a troubling trend that's making it hard for Michiganders to get treated for mental health issues, Fox 47 News reported Aug. 13. In 2017, an initiative called the Michigan Inpatient Psychiatric Admission Discussion Workgroup was created to investigate the lack of mental health resources in Michigan. The group released a report in 2018 with what they believed the issues were and some recommendations for the state. One of the contributing factors was the shortage of psychiatrists. Shuchi Khosla, chief resident at the Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Psychiatry, says the greater Lansing area is about 25 psychiatrists short. “About 80 to 85% of all our patients are being treated by primary care. And they have on average about three to three and a half months to get into a psychiatrist office outpatient,” said Khosla. MSU Department of Psychiatry Chairman Dr. Jed Magen said the federal government defines Michigan as a mental health shortage area, “which means we don't have nearly enough mental health practitioners in almost every county of the state. Even places we have them, the demand is just huge.” MSU is working hard to retain talent. An average calculation from the last four years shows the school has around six people graduating from the program each year.