MINNEAPOLIS, March 10, 2008—The Board of Trustees of the Minnesota Medical Association agreed at its March 8 meeting to adopt a strategic goal of reducing the psychiatric bed shortage by 200 beds each year for the next three years.

The new beds should include transitional beds at crisis centers; hospital beds for acute care, and beds for patients with complex medical-psychiatric problems.

Beds would be distributed by region to ensure equal access across the state.

The board also agreed to seek reimbursement for mental health care and substance abuse disorders through medical benefits, and not behavioral health benefits.

The board set a goal of having most patients (95 percent at least) patients wait less than six hours to transition from an emergency room to a psychiatric or complex intervention unit.

These recommendations follow lengthy study of the psychiatric beds problem in Minnesota. The policy reflects the board's conviction that improving access for patients with mental health and substance use disorders will reduce costs.