Vermont created the Child Psychiatry Access Program to ease the burden on primary care providers struggling with a psychiatric care waitlist "hundreds of kids deep" as a result of the pandemic, local news source WCAX reported June 27.
The Vermont Child Psychiatry Access Program still lets a primary care physician provide mental health diagnoses, but now, instead of sending them to a psychiatrist to provide specialized care, they can call a psychiatrist immediately to address questions and concerns or to get a second opinion.
The program was created with millions in federal funding. Now, the goal is to expand services, creating an "integrated mental health care system" in Vermont, Kate Larose, manager of the Department of Mental Health's Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program, told WCAX.