Psychiatry in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe: an overview of the current situation

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.