Despite initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels, the underrepresentation of Blacks, Hispanic/Latinos (H/L), and American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) among dentists persists. Improving workforce diversity promotes social justice and also increases access, health equity, and health care quality, particularly for minority populations. This article quantifies the shortage of underrepresented minority (URM) dentists and their…
Most states that collect health workforce supply data follow Minimum Data Set (MDS) guidelines on the questions they ask. However, some states collect additional data on their health workforce. This brief summarizes state health workforce data collection efforts that go beyond the MDS.
Paraprofessionals and other behavioral health technicians have been increasingly recognized for their key role in mitigating provider shortages and increasing behavioral health care access to underserved youth and minority populations. Therefore, it is important to understand the procedures, processes, and services these providers are authorized to provide, as outlined by a scope of practice (SOP)….
A behavioral health workforce Minimum Data Set (MDS) was developed through a collaborative process with the Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center (BHWRC) research team and partner Consortium. An MDS instrument with 5 main themes was constructed to include numerous data elements to describe workforce size, composition, and characteristics of the behavioral health workforce, which was…
The Oral Health Workforce Research Center conducted a comparative analysis of Medicaid dental claims over a 2-year period in New York and Oklahoma. Oklahoma Medicaid provides only a limited dental benefit for adult enrollees 21 years of age and older, including emergency exams and extractions of diseased teeth. In contrast, adult Medicaid beneficiaries in New…
Mobile integrated healthcare-community paramedicine (MIH-CP) is a new model of care that allows for a broader range of services in the community than more traditional emergency responses that often involve transporting patients to emergency departments. There is growing but limited evidence that suggests MIH-CP has potential to improve outcomes for patients needing long-term care (LTC)….
The Institute of Medicine has called for an increase in the diversity of the registered nurse (RN) workforce as well as an increase in the percentage of registered nurses who have a baccalaureate degree. A prior study has indicated that 33% of registered nurses who transitioned from licensed practical nurses (LPNs) between 2001 and 2013…
HWTAC is conducting an ongoing survey of states to learn more about their health workforce data collection and analysis efforts. This report describes findings to date from the 2016 survey, and includes information about data collection on health workforce supply and demand, and the educational pipeline in specific US states.
The provision of care for rural and geographically isolated, vulnerable populations presents substantial challenges for the behavioral health workforce related to its supply and retention of clinicians. This issue is a barrier to providing accessible services to those most in need. This policy brief assesses behavioral health workforce supply and need, barriers to recruiting and…
Balancing the disequilibrium between the demand for mental health and substance use disorder services and the supply of qualified behavioral health professionals compels an examination of the billing and reimbursement practices and payer policies impacting behavioral health service access. One strategy to enhance workforce capacity is to ensure that behavioral health professionals can receive reimbursement…
