Psychiatrists as administrators: the perspective of a mental health department psychiatrist.

This paper is adapted from the American Association of Psychiatric Administrators Annual Membership Luncheon Speech given at the meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Toronto, Canada on May 23, 2006. The author discusses three experiences from his work for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to illustrate how psychiatrists working as administrators are uniquely able to meet community mental health and substance misuse needs. The author describes public health interventions employed by psychiatric administrators to reduce morbidity and mortality from opioid and methamphetamine misuse.