Redesigning Public Mental Health Systems Post-COVID-19

Thomas E Smith; Ann-Marie T Sullivan; Benjamin G Druss

doi:10.1176/appi.ps.202000400

Redesigning Public Mental Health Systems Post-COVID-19

Psychiatr Serv. 2021 May 1;72(5):602-605. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000400. Epub 2020 Dec 18.

Authors

Thomas E Smith¹, Ann-Marie T Sullivan¹, Benjamin G Druss¹

Affiliation

¹ New York State Office of Mental Health, Albany, New York (Smith, Sullivan); Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York City (Smith); Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City (Sullivan); Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta (Druss). Marvin S. Swartz, M.D., and Steven Starks, M.D., are editors of this column.

PMID: 33334152
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.202000400

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted public mental health systems across the country, nowhere more than in New York State (NYS). The authors describe the NYS public health agency's response to the pandemic and offer ideas for redesigning public mental health systems post-COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; New York State mental health authority; Public mental health system; Telehealth.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Health Policy
Humans
Mental Health Services / organization & administration*
Mental Health Services / trends*
New York / epidemiology
Pandemics*
Public Health / trends*
Public Health Administration
SARS-CoV-2