As years pass, the mental health care system becomes overwhelmed with increasing number of patients and new difficulties arise. According to the 2004 United States Census, one in four adults suffer from diagnosable mental illnesses in a given year. The vast number of new patients triggers overpopulation in both emergency rooms and county jails, which is extremely concerning. When hospitals experience such numbers proper care and treatment is scarce. In order to ensure the mentally ill places in a facility where appropriate care is available; many steps need to transpire, such as understanding what mental illness is, the history of the health care system, treatment, and funding.
Mental illness defines as “various psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors” (Mifflin, 2004). Much confusion associates with mental illness because some define it as a physical illness, much like diabetes. A physical illness is an infection, injury, or some dysfunction in the body, where a cause and effect is known. Unlike physical illnesses in the body, a mental illness is known by observing behavior and speech and figuring out if such actions violate social norm or interfere with life functions. Two are similar in a sense that many mental illnesses are caused by physical illnesses, such as head trauma or infections. Mental health is very dependable because some mental illnesses can be cured and treated while others cannot be. For a patient to seek proper medical treatment for his or her mental illness, it is essential to understand the history of the health care system because without accurate research, doctors cannot treat appropriately.
The history of the health care system is crucial in understanding where mentally ill patients can receive proper care for their condition. The care of such patients moved numerous times from inpatient mental...