THE PRIVATE PSYCHIATRIST IN A COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM

The apparent line of separation between public and private medical communities is less a mutually exclusive one than it is sometimes assumed to be. A community consultation service in a major metropolitan community has served as a means for the involvement of the private medical community in a county mental health department program. This service at present utilizes 92 private psychiatrists to provide consultation to 71 agencies, public and private, throughout the county. Despite administrative problems, it is felt that the involvement of the private practitioners has broadened the county mental health department's services and at the same time has increased the professional sophistication of the practitioners. It has served as a demonstration of the feasibility of a working partnership of private and public resources for the betterment of the community's mental health.