1. Psychiatry in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe: an overview of the current situation.
- Author
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Füredi, J., Mohr, P., Swingler, D., Bitter, I., Gheorghe, M. D., Hotujac, L., Jarema, M., Kocmur, M., Koychev, G. I., Mosolov, S. N., Pecenak, J., Rybakowski, J., Svestka, J., and Sartorius, N.
- Subjects
PSYCHIATRY ,FINANCING of mental health services ,POLITICAL change ,INFORMATION resources - Abstract
Objective: To review the current status of psychiatry in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Method: A group of psychiatrists from the region evaluated the status of psychiatry at the end of 2004 based on data from their countries and information available on WHO homepages. Results: There is a shift from traditional in-patient facilities towards out-patient and community services as evidenced by a decreasing number of hospital beds. Economic pressures affect the financing of psychiatric services, and reimbursement for novel psychotropics. Political changes were followed by updated legislation. Psychiatric training, pre-, postgraduate and continuous medical education, are gradually being transformed. Scientific output as measured by publications in peer-reviewed journals has been significantly lower than in the West. Conclusion: The major changes in the period of transition documented in the review pose new challenges for psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2006
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