Community mental health centers in Iowa were surveyed by mail in 1993
to obtain quantitative data on the utilization of psychiatrists at the
centers. Responses from all 37 centers indicated that they employed a
total of 34 full-time-equivalent (FTE) psychiatrists, representing ab
out 18 percent of the psychiatrist-hours available in the state. The m
ean number of psychiatrist-hours per week per center was 36.9. New pat
ients waited a mean of 30 days for nn initial assessment by a psychiat
rist. Seventy-three percent of the centers indicated they could use ad
ditional psychiatrist-hours.