Waits of up to 6 months for referrals to psychiatrists have been slashed under a new roster service developed by the Ottawa Academy of Medicine.
In its first month, the 6-month pilot project exceeded expectations by providing 56 referrals. The average waiting times for urgent cases is about 2 weeks. Sixty community-based psychiatrists are participating in the referral service; FPs send the academy an outline of their patients' requirements and it responds with 2 potential referrals. Dr. Keith Anderson, chair of the academy's psychiatry section, said demand for 600 referrals a year had been anticipated, but more than 700 are now expected.
“It's a wonderful model that we will be watching closely,” said Dr. Mike Myers, past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.
Because a national shortage of psychiatrists has arrived at the same time as the closure of some local psychiatric services, frustrated Ottawa FPs were finding it increasingly difficult to find community-based psychiatrists, much less get timely referrals. Myers says the national shortage is most severe in Atlantic Canada and rural areas.
Dr. Steve Kline, chair of the Royal College's Specialty Committee, says province-wide referral systems are needed across the country. “We aren't meeting the needs of the public,” he says. — Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ