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View All ProductsWe understand the critical importance of earning and maintaining your patients' trust in the delivery of exceptional sedation and surgical outcomes. As a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to empowering you in promoting safer, more successful outcomes for each and every patient, without exception.
View All ProductsOur solutions are meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations. Within this innovative framework, we have curated specialized subsets of solutions aimed at addressing the ever-evolving challenges faced by individuals dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
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Learn MoreBehavioral Health is a care environment facing major challenges, similar to much of the rest of healthcare. For its workforce, the situation is difficult, as they accommodate demographic and other trends that keep increasing the need for their services as a provider shortage becomes more pronounced. Here are some of the issues facing this area of healthcare that will have an impact on its workforce in the immediate future.
More people than ever are in need of some form of behavioral healthcare, at all levels of care. According to Elsevier, “More than 44 million American adults have a diagnosable mental health condition, and rates of severe depression are worsening among young people. Mental health and disability are well-established drivers of substance use, and drug overdose deaths fueled by opioid misuse have more than tripled from 1999 to 2016” (Elsevier, 2018).
In absolute terms, there are not enough behavioral health professionals to meet current and projected care needs. Elsevier mentions how a ”2016 report by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on the projected supply and demand for behavioral health practitioners through 2025 indicated significant shortages of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, and marriage and family therapists” (Elsevier, 2018). Adding to the challenge is the intricate matter of applicable insurance coverage—“ Another challenge is that there are many psychiatrists in particular but all types of providers who don't accept insurance” (Oakes and Thompson, 2019).
A special concern when it comes to behavioral health is the extent to which care is not available on an equitable basis across the country. There are many places where little to no professional care in this sector is readily available. According to Elsevier, “the magnitude of provider shortages, however, is not the only issue when considering access to behavioral health services. Another major concern is maldistribution, since parts of the US have few or no behavioral health providers available, and access to mental health services is especially critical in areas of poverty” (Elsevier, 2018).
Even when those seeking treatment are able to access mental health care and treatment for substance abuse, there are challenges. A very significant one involves “just people getting into the system… when you're initially trying to get an appointment with the provider, you often have to wait a very, very long time” (Oakes and Thompson, 2019). What happens when wait times collide with urgently needed care? Here’s the experience in just one case—“Fifty-four percent of Massachusetts youth who experienced a major depressive episode received no mental health services in the year that the report covers” (Oakes and Thompson, 2018).
A corollary to wait time issues is the lack of space in a facility, which can delay much needed care. Oakes and Thompson offer that people may “go to the emergency department for a mental health or substance use disorder issue and they need to be transferred to a bed, sometimes there isn't a physical bed available” (Oakes and Thompson, 2019).
Solutions for Improving Outcomes in Behavioral Health
Involving Other Clinical Disciplines in Behavioral Care
Behavioral health experiences and outcomes could be improved by broadening the range of clinicians involved in this kind of care. Getting patients into the system more quickly could have an enormous impact on care success. For example, “primary care doctors and other clinicians should also be trained and paid for screening for mental health and substance use disorder conditions so they can help identify kids, adolescents or adults who need help and refer them to treatment” (Oakes and Thompson, 2019).
Technology Solutions to Address Physician Barriers
Technology offers significant promise in helping alleviate some of the shortage and distribution challenges in some parts of behavioral care. Several examples specific to our current opioid crisis illustrate the opportunity for technology solutions in this area. A recent Pew Trusts article mentions how rural physicians’ barriers to prescribing buprenorphine (a medication used to treat dependence/addiction to opioids) include time constraints and a lack of mental health or psychosocial support services for patients, specialty backup for complex problems, and confidence in their ability to manage Opioid Use Disorders. Treatment models that use technology to address these barriers have been shown to increase access in rural populations. Here are two examples:
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View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsStandardize policy and procedure management with an automated, customized, and centralized system.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementStreamline the revenue cycle management process and protect your bottom line with expert-backed education.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ProductsUnlocking the full potential of clinicians goes beyond aspiration – it’s a commitment we embody. Our competency development solutions help personalize learning for every clinician so you can confidently bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents while meeting the unique development needs of your seasoned clinician.
View All ProductsEnhance maternal & child nursing care with solutions focused on improving the quality of care for mothers, infants, and children.
View All ProductsAddress staffing challenges, standardize orientation and onboarding, and deliver an effective training program for your team to easily achieve and maintain certification with our critical, emergency, and acute care solutions.
View All ProductsWe understand the critical importance of earning and maintaining your patients' trust in the delivery of exceptional sedation and surgical outcomes. As a premier provider of healthcare education, we are committed to empowering you in promoting safer, more successful outcomes for each and every patient, without exception.
View All ProductsOur solutions are meticulously designed to cater to the diverse needs of patients, healthcare professionals, and organizations. Within this innovative framework, we have curated specialized subsets of solutions aimed at addressing the ever-evolving challenges faced by individuals dealing with illnesses or chronic conditions.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
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View All CredentialingOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
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