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Bridget M. Kuehn

JAMA. 2008;300(12):1399-1400.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

State and federal reimbursement policies create barriers that prevent many primary care physicians from offering screening and intervention for mental disorders, despite growing evidence suggesting such efforts by frontline clinicians may reduce the burden of mental illness in the United States, according to a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Physicians treating patients with mental illnesses often face substantial hurdles to being reimbursed for providing such services. (Photo credit: CC Studio/www.sciencesource.com)

The report provides an overview of the challenges physicians face in trying to bill for mental health services and recommends steps that federal and state agencies can take to make the process easier (http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/ken/pdf/SMA08-4324/SMA08-4324.pdf). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provided technical guidance to the group that drafted the report.

Physician organizations applaud the report's call to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

SIZABLE BURDEN



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