The use of office-based opioid treatment (OBOT) programs has increased in recent years and requires integrated teams of professionals with different kinds of expertise working together. These care teams present opportunities for interprofessional training. This article describes a study that conducted interviews with health professionals on OBOT teams to examine the provider composition of these…
Despite efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion has increased access to primary care, as well as the availability of behavioral health services, including treatment for both mental health and substance use disorders. However, increasing the availability of health and behavioral health services requires an increase in providers. Several federal programs support training…
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…
Little is known about the job satisfaction of licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) participating in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) federal Loan Repayment Program (LRP). Employee satisfaction in organizations is important for organizational well-being and to decrease turnover. This article examines the work and practice satisfaction of LCSWs participating in the NHSC LRP. Findings…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
