What’s worse than the primary care shortage?

And it is for the same reason. Psychiatrists can not provide quality care under the centralized fee schedules of the soviet commissars. Quality services are provided by niche providers on a cash basis while the rest are rushed, inadequate services provided by overwhelmed and discouraged providers trying to stay ahead of progressively devalued services.

Ancillary providers have not solved the problem one whit–may even make it worse. There are nearly 10 psychologists for every psychiatrist and even more social workers. In Louisiana, where psychologists were given Rx privileges (Who needs undergraduate chemistry! I don’t need no stinking science!), the psychiatrist shortage is greater than ever as the old model of living off the fees from the less impaired patients while losing money on treating the severely impaired has broken down as psychologists position themselves to skim the former while shunning the latter.