When your patient needs mental health care

Whether as primary care, specialty, or subspecialty physicians, obstetrician/gynecologists encounter many patients with mental health problems. Although fortunately, the stigma of mental illnesses and treatments has somewhat decreased and the accuracy of diagnosis and efficacy of care have increased, it has unfortunately become more complicated for patients to access that care. There are more and more mental health practitioners and disciplines, making it difficult for the referring ob/gyn and the patient to identify which sort of professional they need. There is an increasing array of third-party payer arrangements, each of which has constantly changing rules and procedures. This article illustrates some typical cases and summarizes some commonsense approaches. Its purpose is to help the busy practitioner connect patients with the care they need.