Quote:
Originally Posted by Teanne
Why does there seem to such a shortage of mental health professionals in the last couple years? My psychiatrist moved away, and the clinic that I was going to refused to let anyone make anymore appointments. They said that they only had two psychiatrists and one nurse practitioner, so they would review all charts and decide who you were going to be assigned to. I had already seen one of the psychiatrists, and it was not a good fit for me. I knew that the nurse practitioner would not be able to handle my case as even the psychiatrists do not seem to be able to handle my treatment-resistant depression. I called the next largest city nearest me, and they said that they do not know anyone in the area who would take on new patients as there is a shortage of psychiatrists. What is going on?
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no there isnt a shortage of treatment providers in my location. whats going on is that the federal law is all americans must have health insurance. with more people on private and state insurance plans they are able to get the treatment that they need. more people in treatment means waiting lists, and treatment providers on quota's of how many patients they are allowed to see. many state and private insurance companies now work like a clearing house / waiting list programs where they keep track of how many patients the treatment providers that accept their insurance plans have. then based on numbers they assign you a treatment provider that has not reached their quota of clients.
suggestion call your insurance company and see if they work that way. if so they will be able to tell you which treatment providers in your area that accept your insurance has "space" or is taking on more clients.
this will at least make the hunting a bit easier.
another suggestion contact the mental health agency that has decided not to "absorb" (take on the out going treatment providers clients) and ask them for a referral to another agency/ treatment provider. sometimes referrals will cut through the red tape at other places, not always but sometimes.