‘Integrated care’ will be a hot topic in Philadelphia this weekend

    Integrated Care, bringing together mental and physical health care, is the theme of this year’s American Psychiatric Association conference, which begins in Philadelphia this weekend.

    What role will psychiatrists play if healthcare moves toward a medical home model, where patients can access different kinds of care in one place? How can psychiatrists collaborate better with primary care physicians and pediatricians?

    John Oldham, president of the American Psychiatric Association says mental health issues play a big role in doctors’ offices.

    “Primary care physicians themselves identify that at least 50 percent of their patients have either main problems that are behavioral or psychiatric, or significant ones,” said Oldham.

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    Oldham says going forward, psychiatrists might work in the same building with primary care physicians, and be in the room during examinations to weigh in.

    The conference will also explore mental health care for soldiers, and new research on addiction.

    Several discussion sessions will deal with the upcoming new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the so-called “bible of psychiatry.”

    Some mental health advocates are planning to protest the conference because of their opposition to the new edition of the DSM.

    Sessions begin this weekend, the conference lasts through May 9th.

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