Solving the Psychiatric Staffing Crisis

Behavioral health staffing is one of the most pressing and persistent issues faced by healthcare leaders in 2025. Over 120 million Americans are living in designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, and the need for behavioral health services continues to outpace the number of practicing psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners. This strain is especially pronounced in inpatient psychiatric programs—particularly those embedded within acute med-surg hospitals—facing unpredictable censuses, provider and staff burnout, gaps in on-call coverage, fragmented care coordination, and regulatory compliance issues around supervision and oversight.

This panel discussion centers on a psychiatric staffing model developed by Integrated Psychiatric Consultants, a physician-owned, physician-managed behavioral health group with 80 psychiatric providers (52% on-site; 48% telehealth) serving over 35 inpatient, outpatient and residential programs across 10 states. IPC providers have completed over 1 million visits since 2002, assuming responsibility for all aspects of care delivery, including 24/7 on-call services, daily rounding and patient care, medical directorship and program oversight, and regulatory compliance and audit support. In 2024, IPC enabled nearly 135,000 behavioral health visits, of which 23% (31,715) were inpatient, 22% (29,458) were outpatient, 11% (15,242) were residential, 8% (10,773) were for substance use treatment, and 5% (7,342) were consultations. Speakers will offer practical, scalable strategies to address psychiatric provider shortages, reduce operational risk and stabilize behavioral health programs within complex care environments.

Attendees will hear from rural and urban hospital executives on how IPC’s “Smart Psychiatric Staffing” model has allowed for:

• 100% success with meeting required coverage standards across all levels of care, without reliance on locum tenens


• A 95% partnership longevity rate, due to streamlined operations and strong quality metrics tied to value-based care


• A 95% provider retention rate, allowing for improved care continuity, reduced turnover and greater patient satisfaction


• Hospitals describing IPC’s model as “unique, reliable, collaborative, and high quality” and leaving several five-star partnership satisfaction ratings


• Minimal administrative burden for staffing and management, boosting provider and partnership satisfaction


• Long-term cost predictability for executives, through an all-inclusive rate approach


• Short-term wins, including immediate gap coverage and reduced ED utilization