How PAs Are Meeting Mental Health Care Needs
Medscape December 6, 2024
The United States is in the midst of a mental health provider crisis. According to the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the country faces substantial shortages of psychologists, licensed social workers, and psychiatrists — and more than half the population lives in a part of the country designated by the agency as a mental health professional shortage area.
With the number of mental diagnoses growing, especially in adolescents and young adults, the medical community must find creative and effective ways to increase access to care. Physician associates (PAs), said Jennifer M. Orozco-Kolb, DMSc, PA-C, interim executive director of the Physician Associate Foundation and chief medical officer, senior vice president of Clinical Affairs at the American Academy of Physician...