General psychiatry in a subspecialty setting.

Reorganization of outpatient services at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic identified a small percentage of patients who did not fit into the subspecialty framework. This necessitated the reestablishment of a General Psychiatry Clinic. A review of 100 patients in the Clinic revealed that they represented the most difficult diagnostic and management problems in the system. General Psychiatry in this subspecialty setting has practically become a subspecialty in its own right, rather than fulfilling a more traditional role of providing general care to the least complicated patients.