Mental Health Progress Meets Continued Patient Access Challenges
This Mental Health Awareness Month we have much to celebrate, following many promising accomplishments for mental healthcare in 2023. These milestones include policy changes in congress supporting better reimbursements for licensed professionals, peer-support specialists, and community healthcare centers offering substance abuse recovery services.
However, even as we progress our knowledge and advocacy for mental health treatment, many Americans continue to struggle with access to care due to the persistent shortage of qualified psychiatrists nationwide.
2024 Psychiatry Trends by the Numbers
The heightened demand for psychiatrists is illustrated in our 2023 Review of Physician and Advanced Practice Recruiting Incentives, which reported psychiatry services as the sixth-highest requested search engagement for healthcare facilities. Yet, the supply of professionals has failed to keep pace with demand, with many healthcare facilities turning to other mental health specialties to fulfill burgeoning needs.
The Facts:
- 90% of Americans think there is a mental health crisis
- 66% of people said they could not access care when seeking it
- 42% of people said that when they did find care, they couldn’t access it due to cost
- $300-$1,500 is the average cost for digital therapeutics services
- 15% of adults had a substance abuse disorder in 2023, 94% receiving no treatment
- 18-24 months is the average recruiting cycle for permanent psychiatrists
So, how can healthcare organizations right the ship for mental health services in the face of such an alarming shortage? Finding the right strategic staffing partner is the first step.
AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions: Your Proven Strategic Partner
Staffing shortages can be costly to organizations, leading to lost revenue and delays in treatment, long waiting times, and physician burnout as more and more patients seek proper services and demand skyrockets.
Partnering with AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions delivers a critical solution to bridge the gap between supply and demand with our robust number of ready-to-hire psychiatrists, each thoroughly vetted and ready to deliver the best mental health care possible to your patients and communities.
Overseeing more than 3,000 physician recruiting assignments annually, AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions connects you with quality psychiatrists and mental health professionals across all settings and practice areas, including:
- Permanent Placement
- Locum Tenens
- Part-Time Contracts
- Physician Needs Assessments
In 2023 alone, AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions helped staff over 20,000 days of locum tenens psychiatric service coverage for more than 200 providers across the country.
Make 2024 the year you turn staffing challenges into success stories when you partner with AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions. Our all-in-one strategic approach to permanent and temporary physician staffing empowers your organization to seamlessly deliver on strategic objectives and improve the patient experience, doing good for your community and your bottom line.
Let’s work together to build upon the momentum of current progress and redouble our efforts to address the root causes of mental health access challenges. Through continued collaboration, innovation, and dedication, we can ensure that every individual in need receives the compassionate and effective care they deserve.
Discover how AMN Healthcare Physician Solutions can support your mental and behavioral health, physician, and advanced practice staffing needs today.
