Abstract
Background: In their current configuration, traditional reactive consultation-liaison services see a small percentage of the general-hospital patients who could benefit from their care. These services are poorly reimbursed and bring limited value in terms of clinical improvement and reduction in health-service use. Method: The authors examine models of cross-disciplinary, integrated health services that have been shown to promote health and lower cost in medically-complex patients, those with complicated admixtures of physical, mental, social, and health-system difficulties. Conclusion: Psychiatrists who specialize in the treatment of medically-complex patients must now consider a transition from traditional consultation to proactive, value-added programs and bill for services from medical, rather than behavioral, insurance dollars, since the majority ofhealth-enhancement and cost-savings from these programs occur in the medical sector. The authors provide the clinical and financial arguments for such program-creation and the steps that can be taken as psychiatrists for medically-complex patients move to the next generation of inter- disciplinary service.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 93-107 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Psychosomatics |
Volume | 50 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Applied Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health