Ethical Imperatives for Participation in Integrated/Collaborative Care Models for Pediatric Mental Health Care

The significant and ongoing shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists has limited access to mental health care in the pediatric population. In response to this problem, integrated/collaborative care models have been established. These models, as all imperfect things in medicine, have their own set of challenges. A careful ethical analysis of integrated/collaborative care models is essential to protect the social and emotional health and safety of children with mental illness. To this end, ethical assessment supports the use of integrated/collaborative care models, and recent studies have demonstrated the benefits of their implementation.