The future of psychiatry. Council on Long Range Planning and Development
The American Medical Association Council on Long Range Planning and
Development has been publishing a series of reports that assess trends in
the environment of medicine and their impact on physicians and health care
provision. The Council believes each specialty in medicine will respond
differently to changes in the health care arena. This report, developed in
cooperation with the American Psychiatric Association, provides an overview
and environmental analysis of the specialty of psychiatry. Socioeconomic
data pertinent to psychiatry are reviewed first, followed by a review of
scientific and clinical developments in the specialty. Next, the changing
provision patterns of psychiatric care, the emerging patient populations
served by psychiatrists, and recent developments in graduate medical
education in psychiatry are reviewed. The Council also addresses changes in
the financing of psychiatric care. In conclusion, the Council suggests
implications of these and other environmental trends for psychiatry.
