VIDEO: Look beyond mental health when treating homeless patients

NEW ORLEANS – Psychiatrists should take care of homeless patients as physicians and look at overall health issues, Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH, said at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.

“Homeless patients often walk in poor shoes, long distances, maybe carrying a lot of belongings, maybe pushing a shopping cart — they often develop ulcers. We need to make sure we look at their feet,” Ritchie, chair of psychiatry at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., and Healio/Psychiatry Peer Perspective Board member, said.