Behavioral Health Challenges Facing Providers
The biggest behavioral health concerns facing providers today include economic uncertainty, difficulty navigating the system, pent up demand due to Covid, lack of safety nets such as schools and increased acuity with violent adults. Providers should focus on hygiene factors such as pay and policies as well as motivational factors like achievement opportunities, growth and recognition to address staffing shortages and workforce hurdles.
Mental Health Technicians and Workforce Hurdles
Mental Health technicians are important in providing care and we need to provide support for them through clinical ladders, bonus opportunities, and recognition. We also need to look into technological advances and policy changes to address the US shortage of mental health professionals by 2024. Immigration solutions and fast-tracking educational programs may be necessary to fill this gap.
Multi-Step Approach to Addressing the Mental Health Care Model
The need for addressing the mental health care model is great and it will have to be a multi-step approach. It will involve international solutions and innovation, such as partnering with disruptors in appropriate ways, providing educational tools for universities, and looking at current policies regarding how patients can access mental health services. The focus should be on utilization and finding the lowest hanging fruit.
Integration in Mental Health Care
In mental health, integration has been the biggest issue. Patients often have a hard time getting to the appropriate level of care due to the hoops they need to jump through. In order to improve this, disrupting and innovation should be focused on greasing these wheels. Additionally, population health could help with treating patients with both chronic medical conditions and mental illnesses, as it is three to five times more costly not to treat the underlying behavioral health condition. To prove that this approach is beneficial, formulas are used to bend the trend in terms of healthcare inflation. Technology is also evolving which may make it easier to measure the success of these approaches.
Note: This is an AI generated transcript, not edited by a staff writer and is solely intended for educational purposes. If you have any questions/concerns, reach out to events@beckershealthcare.com
This panel was live on 04/05/2023 at the event listed here.
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