The expanding roles of general-hospital psychiatry

The number and the roles of psychiatric units in general hospitals have been growing rapidly in recent years, and general-hospital psychiatry presents broad opportunities for service delivery, education, and research. Most or all the basic components of a community mental health center can be found within a general hospital, and as psychiatrists move back into the mainstream of medicine, the general hospital takes on added value. Training advantages include the exposure of medical students and primary care residents and physicians to mental illness and its impact on families as well as the interaction between psychiatric and nonpsychiatric trainees at various levels. The author discusses differences that hinder the optimal use of general-hospital psychiatric units, such as funding, regulatory controls, and regional variations in length of stay.