Health Affairs Study Examines Access to Outpatient Mental Health Services
"Beyond Parity: Primary Care Physicians' Perspectives on Access to Mental Health Care," Health Affairs: The study -- by Peter Cunningham, a senior fellow at the Center for Studying Health System Change -- finds that in 2004-2005, about two-thirds of primary care physicians reported that they could not get outpatient mental health services for their patients. That rate is at least twice as high as for other services, the study finds. The study, which was funded by the Commonwealth Fund, also examines some reasons for the lack of access (Health Affairs release, 4/14).
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