On November 8, Pediatrics released a study assessing the Massachusetts Child Psychiatric Access Project (MCPAP), a state-funded program offering free mental health consultations for pediatric primary care physicians.  The study found that the program increased the proportion of pediatricians that reported meeting psychiatric patients’ needs from 8 percent to 63 percent from 2005 to 2009.  In addition, the study found that the proportion of pediatricians that reported receiving timely child psychiatric consultations increased from 8 percent to 80 percent over the same period.

Sarvet, B., et. al. (2010). Improving access to mental health care for children: the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project. Pediatrics. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-1340. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-1340v1

Authors: Barry Sarvet, Joseph Gold, Jeff Q. Bostic, Bruce J. Masek, Jefferson B. Prince, Mary Jeffers-Terry, Charles F. Moore, Benjamin Molbert, and John H. Straus