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Referral Gridlock: Primary Care Physicians and Mental Health Services
June 2003
Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vol. 18, Issue 6, Page 442 (June 2003)
Sally Trude, Jeffrey Stoddard
Patients’ barriers to mental health services are well documented and include
social stigma, lack of adequate insurance coverage and underdiagnosis by primary
care physicians. Little is known, however, about challenges primary care physicians
face arranging mental health referrals and hospitalizations. Primary care physicians
face greater hurdles obtaining mental health services than other medical services.
Primary care is an important entry point for mental health services, yet inadequate
referral systems between medical and mental health services may be hampering
access.
