Dr. Peter Kuhnert: building a bridge for better mental health care

Dr. Peter Kuhnert believes in working with providers to offer mental health care that meets each patient’s unique needs.

So it’s little wonder why he’s excited about GRH's education event for health professionals working with mental health.

Dr. Kuhnert practices at GRH’s specialized mental health program at the Freeport Campus. He has nearly three decades of experience in family medicine practice across Canada. He is also an ordained minister with 10 years of ministry experience.

Since 2014, he has been one of the organizers for the hospital’s Day in Psychiatry outreach event.

Dr. Peter Kuhnert is passionate about building a bridge between hospital mental health providers and family physicians in the community. He feels the Day in Psychiatry is one of the best ways to build knowledge and also link care providers.
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Who do you think benefits out of this conference the most, and how?

I believe that the Day in Psychiatry continuing professional development day benefits all attendees- family physicians, primary mental health care workers, and the department of psychiatry at Grand River Hospital.

If I had to choose one group that benefitted the most, I would choose our local family physicians. The course content for each continuing professional development day (CPD) comes from clinical questions raised by clinicians at previous CPD days.

The day provides high quality peer-reviewed and accredited continuing medical education.  The presenters are local psychiatrists who clinicians may know by name but may have never met in person. 

The day itself offers a great opportunity to meet, network, and grow in relationship with other physicians passionate about providing high quality mental health care in our community.

What king of on-going knowledge about mental health care do family physicians need?

Family physicians appreciate being updated on the latest diagnostic assessment tools and techniques. They appreciate learning about the benefits and risks associated with new treatments and procedures. They really appreciate getting to know their referral specialists.

They also appreciate updates on changing local health care resources, updates on changing standards of clinical practice, and learning about new opportunities to share knowledge and information with their patients.

What have family physicians said about their involvement in previous conferences?

For the past two years, we have been fortunate in having more than 70 local family physicians involved in our conference. They have appreciated the medical information that was shared. They have appreciated the hospitality of the event. They have enjoyed networking with their colleagues and peers.

Why is this conference important to you personally?

This conference is important to me because it is an opportunity to meet a previously unmet need for CME in our region. 

Not long ago, there was no local opportunity for accredited, high quality continuing medical education in the area of psychiatry in our local health integration network. Now, we have an important outreach for the GRH mental health and addictions program, as well as the GRH department of psychiatry, to our community. 

Strong primary mental health care means faster and more reliable diagnosis, more effective treatment, fewer and shorter hospital stays, and ultimately, healthier individuals, families, and communities.