The researchers knew that fewer than 500 military treatment facilities offered psychiatric care, so they broadened their search to include access to civilian psychiatrists. The results found that his 35% of Tricare beneficiaries live in areas with a resident-to-psychiatrist (military or civilian) ratio of over 20,000 to hers. Another 6% said he lived more than 30 minutes’ drive from a military or civilian psychologist.
Access varies by region. While 13% of TRICARE beneficiaries lived in communities with no shortage, 47% lived primarily in the Northeast and Pacific Coast, where civilian psychiatrists are in short supply with sufficient military psychiatrists. I lived where I was. The 35% who lived in areas lacking both lived mostly in the South, Inland West, and Midwest.
People living in places with both low-income and high-income inequality were more than twice as likely to have a shortage of psychiatrists. Retirees were almost twice as likely to experience shortages and nearly four times as likely to be inaccessible.
Researchers say many private psychiatrists do not accept Tricare insurance because of the low reimbursement. According to the program’s 2021 evaluation, only 37% of surveyed private behavioral health providers reported accepting military insurance. When the researcher fitted that acceptance rate to the data, he increased the number of beneficiaries experiencing shortages to 60%.
More research is needed on these disparities, but the military can respond with strategies such as satellite clinics and telemedicine, the researchers wrote. It can also increase reimbursement rates and invest in nurse practitioners in underserved communities.
As for the shortage of psychiatrists, they point out, military families aren’t the only ones.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 158 million Americans live in areas where mental health providers are in short supply, and the agency expects demand to grow 3% by 2030. We forecast a 20% contraction in professional occupations, despite the At least he 12,530 psychiatrists who treat adults.
A Spatial Analysis of Access to Psychiatrists for U.S. Military Personnel and Their Families
