According to the National Institute of Mental Health, currently about one out of every five Americans lives with a mental illness.
During the COVID pandemic, researchers found that mental health concerns like depression and anxiety increased by 25% globally. And a study conducted in September 2024 found that for many people, psychiatric problems that evolved during COVID continued two to three years after the pandemic.
Along with a growing need for mental health services, we are also experiencing a psychiatrist shortage right now. Why is there a shortage of psychiatrists? An aging population with more retiring doctors, too few psychiatry residency positions, and low insurance reimbursement rates are just a few of the reasons.
In fact, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) says that the number of psychiatrists in the U.S. will drop by 27% by 2030, with demand for mental health services expected to increase by 6% by 2030. This will leave a gap in psychiatric care for patients and healthcare facilities.
One way to potentially bridge the gap between a decreased number of mental health professionals and increased need for services is by offering telepsychiatry services.
Let’s explore the psychiatrist shortage, why it’s happening, what it means for the future, and how telepsychiatry can provide much-needed resources to patients across America.
The Psychiatrist Shortage: Why It’s Happening
Why is there a shortage of mental health providers in America? There are many reasons for the thinning psychiatrist pool, including:
- Aging Workforce: Many psychiatrists are nearing retirement, with fewer new behavioral health professionals entering the field.
- Increased Demand for Mental Health Services: Cases of anxiety, depression, and severe mental illnesses have been on the rise since the COVID pandemic and are expected to continue to increase by 2030.
- Fewer Psychiatry Students: Shortage of medical school training and residency programs for medical students, long educational paths, burnout among providers, and stigma related to mental health can keep people from considering a career as a psychiatrist.
- Lower Insurance Reimbursement Rates: Insurance companies sometimes do not reimburse practicing psychiatrists as much as they do other medical providers.
- Rural & Underserved Areas: Limited access to psychiatrists outside major cities, leaving many communities without care.
The Impact of the Psychiatrist Shortage
The severe shortage of psychiatrists is having a profound impact on both people who have mental health conditions and the overall healthcare system.
Some of these effects include:
- Longer wait times for psychiatric appointments.
- Shortened appointments sometimes do not allow enough time for the best quality patient care.
- Fewer specialty mental health services are being offered.
- Continued or worsened burnout among current psychiatrists and therapists.
- Higher rates of untreated mental illness, leading to worsening symptoms and hospitalizations.
- Increased burden on emergency departments and primary care providers.
Additionally, the psychiatrist shortage is making it difficult for institutions to provide mental health services for those in their care.
Institutions being negatively impacted by this shortage include:
- Community Mental Health Centers
- Correctional Facilities
- Counseling Practices
- Emergency Departments
- Employee Assistance Programs
- Federally Qualified Health Centers
- Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals
- Primary Care Practices
- Residential Treatment Facilities
- Schools & Universities
- Tribal Communities
How Telepsychiatry Bridges the Gap
Telepsychiatry is a type of telehealth that provides mental health care via video conferencing or over the phone. With virtual psychiatry, licensed psychiatrists can evaluate patients, draw up treatment plans, and prescribe most medications — everything they would normally do during an in-person appointment.
Telepsychiatry offers several benefits for psychiatrists, including:
- A more flexible schedule
- Reduced burnout
- Access to patients in rural communities
- Better patient engagement
- Improved continuity of care
And telepsychiatry offers many benefits for institutions that have been struggling to offer mental health services due to the psychiatrist shortage and budget limitations, such as:
- Reducing Costs: Eliminates the need for full-time mental health professionals on staff and transportation costs to in-person appointments.
- Faster Psychiatric Evaluations & Treatment: Reduces wait times for diagnosis and medication management.
- Improved Continuity of Care: More access to a psychiatrist can help ensure patients are better engaged with their mental health and stay on their treatment plan.
- Eliminating Stigma: Some patients will not seek on-site mental health services due to the stigma surrounding mental health issues — this provides a more private option.
- Expanding Access to Care: Provides mental health services to underserved and rural areas.
- Reducing Crisis and Emergency Situations: Helps reduce crises and emergency room visits, which may not treat mental health emergencies.
The Future of Psychiatry: Can Telepsychiatry Solve the Shortage?
There’s no denying that the current psychiatric shortage, which is expected to continue, is harming people in need of mental health services.
This is especially seen in institutions like correctional facilities and residential treatment facilities, where the need for psychiatric services remains high. Just in prisons alone, about two out of every five people in a correctional facility have a history of mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Although telehealth has been around for some time now, the recent COVID pandemic is a great example of how virtual health care, like telepsychiatry services, can meet health needs with high-quality care without an in-person visit.
During the pandemic, the U.S. government relaxed some restrictions on telehealth to make it more widely available to Americans. These included removing Medicare’s telehealth restrictions and allowing telehealth physicians to prescribe controlled substances.
Most of the pandemic-related changes have been extended, however, most of those extensions are expected to end this year. The American Medical Association is currently fighting to expand the U.S. telehealth policy and make many of the pandemic-related extensions permanent.
There is also a great potential for the use of AI and digital health tools within telepsychiatry to complement in-person psychiatric services and provide even better mental health services to patients.
With so much to gain through telepsychiatry and so much to lose with the current psychiatrist shortage, the need for continued investment in mental health provider training and telehealth infrastructure is more important than ever.
Closing the Psychiatrist Shortage Divide
The current psychiatrist shortage is hurting anyone in need of mental health services in the U.S. and if projections are correct, this problem is not going away anytime soon.
Telepsychiatry is a vital tool that can be used to address, bridge, and potentially close the gap between mental health care providers and their patients.
We encourage healthcare providers and policymakers to invest in long-term telehealth solutions that provide access to all.
If your institution is struggling with the current psychiatric shortage, contact us today to find out how telepsychiatry can help the people you care for.