A psychiatrist's experience in a primary health care setting

Psychiatrists have, for years, offered consultation to their nonpsychiatrist colleagues in many settings and have worked with them in a variety of ways. The development of new programs in primary medical care offers new challenges and opportunities to the liaison psychiatrist. This paper describes the experience of a full-time psychiatrist in a hospital-based primary health care setting. Special problems are encountered in developing working relationships with patients, physicians, nurses, social workers, administrators, and other members of the health care team. Effective resolution of these problems makes it possible to offer comprehensive mental health services as an integral part of primary health care. This psychiatrist's role differs from other consultation-liaison functions by virtue of full-time economic, patient care, academic, geographic and administrative assimilation into the primary health care setting itself. It is suggested that this role is an effective way to bring supportive and educational psychiatric services to patients and providers of all levels of sophistication and need.