Movements to deinstitutionalize people with mental illness and to make institutionalization more legally difficult have resulted in a lack of space and resources for the care of those with severe mental illness, and many have ended up in jails and prisons.
In a study of New York physicians' compliance with reporting of communicable diseases, surveyed physicians responded better to legal warnings than to requests that explained public health benefits.
The Domenici Wellstone Equitable Treatment Act sought to increase access to mental health care services and improve the efficiency and fairness of insurance coverage for mental illness.
Training in the humanities helps to provide psychiatrists with an insight into the human condition, as represented in literature, film, and other media forms.