American Medical Association (AMA) Calls for Remedies for Psychiatric-Bed Shortage

From the July 18th edition of Psychiatric News:

By Mark Moran

Physicians from all specialties emphasized the scope of the problem and that it is embedded in other, larger problems in American health care, such as the rising number of the uninsured and the closing of psychiatric units.

Diminishing access to psychiatric beds and the resulting overcrowding of emergency departments is an urgent crisis and a national disgrace, said psychiatrists, emergency department specialists, and other physicians at the AMA's House of Delegates meeting last month in Chicago (see Psychiatry-Related Issues Prominent on AMA Agenda).

With virtually unanimous support, the AMA house called for efforts to facilitate access to both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services and the continuum of care for mental illness and substance abuse as a means of relieving pressure on emergency departments (EDs) across the country that have been forced to board patients in crowded hallways—sometimes for days—before available beds can be found.

The recommendations were part of a report titled "Access to Psychiatric Beds and Impact on Emergency Medicine," prepared by the AMA's Council on Medical Service.