The pediatric behavioral and mental healthcare market is characterized by high demand and acute shortage. More than 74 million Americans is an adolescent or child younger than 18 years. Of these, nearly 17 million have or had a diagnosable psychiatric disorder – more than the number of children with cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Nearly 1 million Americans age 18 years and younger have autism spectrum disorder. The cost of caring for these disorders is over $20 billion per year. Yet even at those levels, between 50% and 80% of children and teens with mental and behavioral illness do not receive treatment.
Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Nearly one in eight school-age children have a mental health disorder, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety or behavior problems. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults. Lack of access to treatment significantly contributes to suicide.
Specialists and training for these children are in short supply. More than one-third of children with mental health conditions are cared for by pediatricians. However, two-thirds of pediatricians reported feeling unprepared to provide mental health care, according to a survey by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The U.S. now has 9.75 child psychiatrists per 100,000 children. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimates that 47 child psychiatrists per 100,000 children are needed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) projects that the growing mental health workforce shortage will leave the country 250,000 professionals short of the demand by 2025.
The shortages can be attributed to both dwindling supply and growing demand. In general, professionals are aging out of these fields quicker than they are being replaced by younger professionals. However, population growth and expanding insurance coverage suggest greater numbers of people will seek mental health treatment in the future. According to a 2017 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, telemedicine has vast potential to address such longstanding and worsening issues of provider shortages, as well as to increase the efficiency and collaboration of care.