As demand for greater and more diverse behavioral health care services increases, expansion of occupational scopes of practice (SOPs) has been suggested as one mechanism for enhancing workforce capacity. SOPs that are uniform for a given occupation across states, and complementary across behavioral health occupations, may help ensure that a full range of mental health…
Social work scopes of practice (SOPs) define the services and functions that are allowed by social workers. However, no studies have been conducted to assess the uniformity, or lack thereof, of the profession’s regulations across each state. As the need for social workers increases, the capacities of social workers will increase as well. This policy…
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) programs and degrees have increased substantially in recent years and there has been controversy surrounding whether more advanced practiced registered nurses should be prepared by DNP programs that are lengthier and more expensive than other masters degree programs. However, little research has been conducted that explores the role of DNP-prepared…
The behavioral health workforce faces considerable challenges, including demand for behavioral health services, changes to the health system under the Affordable Care Act, the return of war veterans with behavioral health needs, and a shift from incarceration to treatment-oriented behavioral health care in the criminal justice system. These changes place additional strain on the existing…
In conjunction with other legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is transforming medical care in the United States. The ACA is seeking to improve patient and population health outcomes while lowering costs. One mechanism is to incentivize the use of interprofessional health teams in primary and specialty care settings. These changes require reconfiguring and…
Significant Federal investments have motivated many community health centers (CHCs) to implement electronic health records (EHRs) in recent years. Because CHCs are known to use flexible and innovative staffing models, their uptake of EHRs creates a unique opportunity to study how new technology intersects with staffing changes to influence care delivery. This report helps to…
Telehealth has long been viewed as an important pathway for increasing access to care for underserved populations, while providing high quality care at low cost. The spread of telehealth in the United States, however, has been hampered by a range of reimbursement, equipment costs, and licensure barriers. This report examines the extent to which…
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.ArrayReport Arrayhttps://www.healthworkforceta.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HWTAC_Data_Collection_Inventory_Report_2016.pdfNovember 1, 2016Array, Array, Array,…
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…
