Primary Care Clinicians' Satisfaction and Clinical Confidence After Participation in the Wisconsin Child Psychiatry Consultation Program.

Abstract

Introduction: To help combat a shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists and assist primary care providers in managing pediatric mental health care cases, the Medical College of Wisconsin established the Wisconsin Child Psychiatry Consultation Program. The program provides educational support to primary care providers with mild to moderate pediatric mental health concerns via phone or email consultation with board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists, as well as offering on-demand didactic training sessions and assistance locating therapeutic resources.

Objective: We sought to assess participating primary care clinicians' satisfaction with consultations and their perceptions of program services, specifically its impact on self-reported diagnostic decision-making and patient outcomes.

Methods: Primary care providers' responses to both post-consultation and annual surveys were analyzed to determine the program's impact. Five survey questions used a 5-point Likert scale, and 1 "select-all-that-apply" question was included on the post-consultation survey.

Results: Overall, 99.2% of respondents were satisfied with their most recent consultation. Additionally, mean Likert scale scores assessing provider confidence after program enrollment in the areas of diagnosing (mean 3.7, SD 0.8), prescribing medications (mean 3.6, SD 0.9), and managing child mental health problems (mean 3.5, SD 0.9) were all significantly greater than provider confidence before enrollment (P < 0.0001 for all).

Conclusions: Our study revealed that most primary care providers utilizing the Wisconsin Child Psychiatry Consultation Program find it a valuable resource for diagnostic decision-making and improving patient outcomes. This suggests that expanded utilization of the program should be encouraged.