July Edition 2021
Inside This Issue
COVID-19, Telepsychiatry and the Future of Behavioral Health Jobs By Linda Beattie
T Improving Telehealth Services For Medicaid Users See pg. 12
INDEX Legal Matters....................... pg.3 Oncology Research......... pg.4 Mental Health...................... pg.6 Healthy Heart....................... pg.8 Hospital News.................... pg.10
Ascension celebrating opening of new Austin-based Pharmacy Services See pg. 13
he COVID-19 pandemic has created a tsunami of problems across the United States, affecting the public’s mental health in addition to the numerous physical casualties. Fears of the disease, grief for those lost, social separation and economic hardships have created new cases of anxiety and depression, while exacerbating existing mental illnesses. A new poll by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), conducted March 26 to April 5, 2021 among a sample of 1,000 adults, found that: • 41% are more anxious than last year when the pandemic began • 43% said the pandemic has had a serious impact on their mental health (up from 37% in September 2020) • 53% of parents are concerned about the mental state of their children • 48% of parents reported the pandemic has caused mental health problems for one or more of their children, with 26% seeking professional help During this same period when Americans have
developed a greater need for mental health services, psychiatrists have had to make drastic cuts to in-person visits and dive into telepsychiatry. “There is a huge global shortage of behavioral health physicians, and the market is unfortunately dictating a
providing a range of services including psychiatric evaluations, therapy (individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy), patient education and medication management.” While telepsychiatry usually involves direct psychiatrist and patient interaction, it may also include psychiatrists supporting primary care providers through professional consultations. It can be delivered via live, interactive communication or involve recorded information. Rumbles of change before COVID “In the three or four years before COVID hit, psychiatrists had been asking about telepsychiatry,” said Mike Belkin, divisional vice president for Merritt Hawkins. “They were interested in doing virtual visits, asking about working from home, but the market was very slow to respond. Some clients agreed to allow some of these visits, but most did not. They were worried that patient care would be sacrificed. Reimbursement was also an issue.” “Some areas that found recruitment challenging decided to try it,” he continued. “We had some clients that were starting to incorporate one to two days of telepsychiatry visits to help attract those candidates who wanted
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a tsunami of problems... Fears of the disease, grief for those lost, social separation and economic hardships have created new cases of anxiety and depression, while exacerbating existing mental illnesses. greater need. Then with the pandemic shutting down some services, we saw a major transition to telehealth platforms,” said Gabriel Bishop, director of recruiting for the diversified specialties group at Merritt Hawkins. What is telepsychiatry? The APA defines telepsychiatry as a subset of telemedicine, which is “the process of providing health care from a distance through technology, often using videoconferencing.” They add that telepsychiatry “can involve
see Telepsychiatry...page 14
PERMIT# NO PERMIT 11491 AUSTIN TXTX HOUSTON PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID
