In this webinar, experts from the UNC Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center will provide an overview of research efforts designed to inform policies which support the behavioral health workforce and increase access to quality behavioral health services.
Medication is increasingly used to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) in primary care. It incorporates medication (ie, buprenorphine) with behavioral therapy and/or psychosocial services. Targeted planning for co-location of DEA-waivered buprenorphine prescribers and behavioral health (BH) clinicians could increase the use of MOUD. Presently, less than half of all waivered prescribers, outside of hospitals, are…
Despite evidence supporting the integration of pharmacists in team-based primary care, little evidence exists on the colocation of pharmacists with primary care physicians (PCPs) in the United States and even less information exists on the factors associated with these models in primary care. Increasing the colocation of pharmacists and PCPs gives practitioners greater ability to…
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…
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…
Health providers often attempt to capture social determinants of health (SDOH) in electronic health records (EHR) and use these data to adjust care plans. Standardizing SDOH documentation in the EHR between members of the health workforce may help ensure that patients’ social risk factors, including food and housing insecurity, are addressed. This article assesses how…
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…
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, so does the levels of stress, burden, and burnout of health care workers. Researchers at the Carolina Health Workforce Research Center conducted a scoping review of published literature on burnout interventions implemented for healthcare workers during COVID-19, as well as expert interviews with healthcare administrators involved in COVID-19 burnout response…
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted access to and the delivery of behavioral health services for both patients and social work providers. This webinar describes how practicing social workers transitioned to tele-behavioral health services during the pandemic. Presenters discuss challenges, practice innovations, and ethical/equity-focused implications to increase the use tele-behavioral health beyond the pandemic. Recommendations to ensure…
Integrated care has become increasingly common in recent years and has helped provide patients with care for a wide variety of health needs. These integrated approaches tend to be more complex and require new ways of collecting data to measure their effectiveness. Electronic health records (EHR) present a potential solution. This article describes the development…
