Best Practices For Co-Occurring Disorders: Medical Co-Management of Psychiatric Patients—Addressing the “Other” Dual Diagnoses

Abstract

ABSTRACT Persons with serious mental illness suffer significant excess mortality as compared to the general population, often due to underrecognized or untreated medical conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. Risk for these conditions may be increased by pharmacologic treatments for psychiatric symptoms. Some psychiatrists question whether their limited clinical training in primary care is sufficient to address the medical needs of their patients or whether medical “co-management” by primary care physicians is advisable. The author surveyed local psychiatric hospitals and chairs of academic departments of psychiatry regarding their use of medical consultants for assessment and co-management of medical conditions in psychiatric inpatients.