As the COVID-19 pandemic surged throughout the United States, increased demand for health workers led to the implementation of health workforce data and tools to aid planning and response at local, state, and national levels. This article describes the development of 2 estimator tools—the State Hospital Workforce Deficit Estimator and the Contract Tracing Workforce Estimator—designed…
Studies have shown that integrated behavioral health (IBH) is an important model for reducing costs and improving patient outcomes, but issues with financing this method of care have mitigated implementation efforts. Psychiatric collaborative care management (CoCM) and behavioral health integration (BHI) codes allow for the financing of certain IBH services. This brief describes a study…
Many patients without access to private insurance rely on primary care providers who take Medicaid to receive quality, affordable care. However, the number and proportion of primary care providers who take Medicaid varies widely by geographic location. This interactive map allows users to view the number and proportion of primary care providers who take Medicaid…
Low wage workers such as janitors and food service workers are essential for ensuring that hospital settings are able to function. These workers experience similar pandemic-related stressors as physicians and nurses, but their experiences and needs are less likely to be visible. This article describes a study that conducted interviews with low wage workers to…
Peer support providers are individuals who have been trained to use their personal experiences with mental illness and substance use disorders to help others in recovery. Organizations that provide behavioral health treatment are increasingly employing peer support providers as vital team members. Prior studies have focused on evaluating the effectiveness of peer providers in terms…
The use of peer providers on behavioral health service teams is a potential solution for reducing costs and improving patient outcomes. Unfortunately, comparative studies of the use of peer providers are methodologically challenging due to the lack of standardization of peer roles and training requirements. This article discusses a study that conducted a literature review…
Studies have shown that the pandemic has increased the prevalence of mental health issues and the demand for behavioral health services. Telehealth services have also been expanded to help deal with the increased demand. To continue to improve workforce capacity and ensure that the current workforce is utilized appropriately, more research needs to be done…
Behavioral health paraprofessionals are essential for assisting in the treatment of patients, supporting clinicians, and helping sustain the behavioral health workforce as a whole. However, due to a number of factors, paraprofessionals experience high levels of turnover and burnout. This report describes a study that conducted a literature review as well as key informant interviews…
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly disrupted access to and the delivery of behavioral health services for many social work providers and their clients. This disruption, coupled with the authorization of tele-behavioral health services through Medicaid, Medicare, and other insurance providers, created a dependence on tele-behavioral health to provide and receive services. This article examines the use…
The State Health Workforce Data Collection Inventory describes findings from a survey about data collection on health workforce supply (eg, demographic, education, and practice characteristics of health professionals), demand (eg, vacancies and employer recruitment and retention difficulties), and the education pipeline (eg, graduation rates and trainee/graduate characteristics). The data collection survey is ongoing and the…
