Is It Anxiety or Does Kevin have COVID 19?

Clinical Vignette: It’s 4 p.m. on a busy Thursday. Kevin and his mother zoom into your office for the third time in six weeks. Today’s chief complaint is stomach pain and mild diarrhea. Kevin is 9 years old and has had some stomach issues in the past. His mother has been reading up on COVID-19 and heard that children more often present with stomach versus respiratory symptoms. The history does not really fit COVID-19 and you are starting to wonder about anxiety, but how do you even talk with his mother without looking like you are brushing off the COVID-19 concern? It makes you wish you had a child psychiatrist on speed dial. What’s faster than a pizza delivery and better for your physical and emotional well-being? The new state-funded Child Psychiatry Access Network (CPAN) at 1-888-901-CPAN (2726). CPAN is three services in one phone call:

1. Your CPAN team is here to assist you in locating mental health resources for your patients;
2. Help guide you on how to collaborate with a family on a brief behavioral plan for common issues such as anxiety, school refusals, disruptive behavior and sleep problems; and,
3. Give you access to child and adolescent psychiatry colleagues when you need assistance from another physician. Our psychiatrists can help you consider how to assess for a psychiatric condition in a busy clinical practice, what types of treatments might be recommended, and then provide education on how to utilize those treatments and monitor for efficacy and adverse events.

You can call the team as many times as you need on the same patient. CPAN’s goal is to help increase your knowledge and skills in managing mild-to-moderate mental health conditions and help you locate resources for those young people whose conditions are moderate to severe. CPAN operates Monday through Friday, except major holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can expect a call back from the team within five minutes. The first team member can generally help address any resource or brief behavioral intervention plan questions. If you would like to consult with the child psychiatrist, CPAN commits to a return call within 30 minutes of your request. CPAN is free and easy to use. Simply call 1-888-901-CPAN (2726). We can register you on the spot, or if you are too busy, send you an email link that walks you through the enrollment process. Let CPAN help you – as you help Kevin. Give us a call – it’s easy, free and faster than a pizza delivery!   Be well, Laurel L. Williams, DO Medical Director, COSH Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium https://www.utsystem.edu/pophealth/tcmhcc/ The creation of the new Texas Children Mental Health Care Consortium, by Senate Bill 11 was a major legislative success in the 2019 in part because physicians like you effectively called for change. CPAN is one of four significant programs within the TCMHCC addressing the mental health concerns of our Texas families. The Texas Child Psychiatry Access Network recently launched a statewide program to provide Texas pediatricians and other primary care physicians caring for children access to speedy psychiatry consultations for their patients. CPAN is a network of child psychiatry access centers staffed by child psychiatrists who will provide pediatricians and primary care providers with live telephone case consultation as well as training opportunities related to common child mental health concerns. Are you worried about your patient’s mental health? Please see here for more information on how CPAN can help your practice.