The Importance of Joint Commission Accreditation

For over 70 years, The Joint Commission (TJC) has served to uphold care quality standards to improve patient care across the healthcare industry. As the preeminent healthcare accreditation organization, TJC sets quality standards, evaluates the performance of healthcare organizations across the country, and provides the solutions and resources organizations need to improve their practices.

For behavioral health care, we know that maintaining quality, consistent care and ensuring patient safety across their experience is absolutely critical. If you’re in the process of expanding your behavioral health program or services, vetting partner organizations for TJC accreditation is a great place to start.

The benefits of working with a Joint Commission accredited partner

When you work with a healthcare organization that is TJC accredited you can be confident your patients and your communities will be receiving the best care possible and that all care will be delivered with quality and patient safety as the top priorities

Here are just a few additional benefits to working with a TJC accredited partner:

  • Dedication to continuous improvement: When a healthcare organization is accredited by TJC, you can rest assured that the organization is not only dedicated to continuously meeting rigorous national standards for care, but is also looking to constantly improve their care efforts to keep up with evolving best practices.
  • Ability to conduct credentialing by proxy: TJC accredited telehealth organizations meet the regulatory requirements for telemedicine credentialing and are qualified to conduct credentialing by proxy (CBP). This qualification allows health systems to leverage the benefits of telepsychiatry without incurring the full administrative burden associated with the traditional credentialing process.
  • Confidence in your partner’s management practices: Because a TJC accredited healthcare organization is subject to regular audits by the Joint Commission to ensure they’re in compliance with TJC standards, your organization can be confident that any TJC accredited partner will be utilizing sound management practices that put patient safety and care quality first.

For more information about TJC standards and the accreditation process, you can visit their website here.

Iris Telehealth has been Joint Commission accredited since 2019

Iris Telehealth first received TJC accreditation in 2019 and officially had our accreditation status recertified in November 2022. That status further cements our commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our partners and patients across the country.
As a psychiatric medical group that is TJC accredited as a Behavioral Healthcare & Human Services Organization, we believe it is important to hold our patient care standards at the same level as our health system partners, if not higher.

Through this ongoing commitment these standards continue to be at the forefront of how we operate our medical group – from provider selection, standards of patient care, compliance, and regulatory oversight.

If you’re interested in learning more about what partnership with Iris Telehealth looks like,contact us today and we’d be happy to get the conversation started.

Telehealth Update on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Rules

There are many barriers that can keep people from getting the mental health care they need. One of these key barriers is access. Thankfully, organizations like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continue to drive new initiatives to mitigate this barrier and help more people get the care they need. In November 2022, CMS finalized new rules to expand access to behavioral health.

Key initiatives include flexibility in billing and supervision as well as permanently covering certain telehealth services. These new flexibilities improve access to substance use and mental health services for patients all across the country.

These new telehealth rules are an optimistic next step in expanding behavioral health care to those who need it most. That’s why we’ve condensed everything you and your providers need to know about the newly expanded rules.

Overview of new CMS rules

At a high level, these new changes by CMS include flexibility in supervision denoting that a supervising clinician does not need to be on-site for certain behavioral health services. In addition, Medicare will pay opioid treatment programs to start MAT (medication assisted treatment) with buprenorphine for care delivered via telehealth or by a mobile unit.

Let’s take a closer look at these two final rules:

1. Physician fee schedule final rule: This new rule helps ensure patients needing behavioral health care can access the care they need. By no longer requiring clinicians to be on-site for billable behavioral health services, it opens up greater opportunity for those enrolled in Medicare to see their providers.

This rule states that certain behavioral health clinicians can provide care without their supervisor on-site. CMS permits clinicians like licensed professional counselors (LPCs) and licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) to bill under the general supervision of a physician or non-physician practitioner rather than direct supervision for any mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.

Additionally, the final physician fee schedule rule also clarifies that any mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) treatment service is billed under general supervision.

2. Hospital outpatient prospective payment system final rule: The hospital outpatient prospective payment system final rule allows hospital outpatient departments to bill for certain in-home telebehavioral health services when patients cannot go in person for a visit but need to be seen. This expanded access is crucial for reaching those in rural communities who need care.

This final rule requires patients to have an in-person visit within 6 months before and every 12 months after the telehealth visit. However, if the patient and provider agree that the risk and burden of an in-person visit outweighs the benefits, they can forgo the in-person visit.

Additionally, the final rule allows audio-only visits when video technology isn’t available.

Core benefits of the new CMS rules

These new rules provide benefits for providers, patients, and organizations overall. Here are a few core benefits for each person in the healthcare ecosystem:

  • For patients: Access is everything in mental health care and these new rules from CMS help patients secure continuity of care. Additionally, as this access improves, there are more opportunities for patients to find the right care.
  • For providers: Making the public health emergency telehealth flexibilities permanent means there is no longer a worry about a disruption of workflow and care – should this line of service no longer be a billable option. The new rules create flexibility in delivery of care; via telehealth and a more flexible supervision model allowing clinicians to reach more patients.Additionally, the CMS rules provide new codes for psychologists and LCSWs for behavioral integration, allowing services to be delivered in a primary care setting which ultimately improves patient access to substance use and mental health services.If you’re a provider looking to learn more about navigating these new changes, check out this article by CMS.
  • For organizations: As the new rules permanently cover certain telehealth services, organizations who are delivering care via telehealth are able to maintain this model that has ensured continuity of care during the pandemic and improved the number of patients served.

How Iris Can Help

At Iris, we’re always here to clarify and help your organization understand new rules and regulations in the evolving telehealth landscape. If you have any questions about the new CMS rules, we can help guide you and your team through these new changes. To talk to one of our team members, contact us today.

How Telepsychiatry Can Decrease Clinician Burnout

According to a study done before the pandemic, over one-half of physicians and one-third of nurses experience symptoms of burnout. Following the pandemic, we’ve seen an unprecedented rise in the prevalence of burnout among clinicians due to demanding hours, lack of work-life balance, and higher demand for providers.

Burnout generally refers to physical and emotional exhaustion coming from chronic stressors. For many providers, it can feel like they can’t provide their highest quality of care or that they’re not functioning in a high-quality system.

The state of clinician burnout

In 2020, the clinician burnout rate was reported to be around 25%. Over the past couple of years, that number has only increased. It can be challenging when providers balance raising a family, longer work hours, personal life, and their mental and physical health.

Many behavioral health providers are on the front lines of the mental health crisis. Providers across the country are having a hard time handling many patients, especially when there are few resources to provide quality care to patients.

And, due to the provider shortage, there is enormous pressure and insufficient providers to combat the mental health crisis.

What providers can do to identify burnout

Burnout can be hard to identify, but physical exhaustion and the need to recharge and self-care can be early signs. Sometimes burnout can show itself in emotional exhaustion as well. Pay attention if you feel you cannot emotionally engage in your relationships with your family and friends or are having difficulty enjoying your hobbies. These can be early red flags that you are suffering from acute burnout.

It can be hard to take time for yourself as a provider, especially when you want to meet the needs of your patients. Taking time out for yourself and engaging in self-care can help mitigate and alleviate burnout.

Ways telepsychiatry can alleviate provider burnout

When implemented properly, telepsychiatry can help address the challenge of provider burnout. According to Physician’s Weekly, 20% of providers said greater flexibility in their work schedules could help avoid burnout. Here are just a few of the ways telepsychiatry can help decrease burnout:

  1. Telepsychiatry can help clinicians to have a better work-life balance, decreasing burnout. Through telepsychiatry, providers can have a sense of control and autonomy over their schedules. Providers can have the ability to spend more time with their family, engage in self-care, and take appointments from the comfort of their own home.
  2. No more long commutes. Providers can skip the commute and conduct remote visits with the help of telepsychiatry. When providers can work from home, they no longer need to worry about wasted time or the expense of a commute. This is especially true in rural areas where they might have to travel further to see patients.
  3. Practicing from a setting where you are more comfortable improves patient quality of care. With telepsychiatry, providers can provide optimal care from the comfort of their own homes.

How can organizations help their providers?

As an organization, you should make sure your providers aren’t isolated during difficult times. Here are a few ways you can help your providers:

  1. Remind them about employee assistance programs and other places to get mental health help. Ensure they know who is on their team and who they can talk to, especially when they are virtual. With a culture of open communication, encourage your providers to talk about their concerns.
  2. Monitor your provider’s mental wellbeing. Check in with your providers about their mental health. Sometimes, when taking care of their patients and their loved ones, it can be challenging for providers to take a step back and think about themselves. Burnout can be mitigated by creating an environment where a provider’s mental health is a priority.
  3. Give your clinicians ample time for their personal lives by not overscheduling them. Make sure you’re giving your providers as much flexibility as you can. Reinforce safety practices, monitor their stress, and provide support for your providers. And, remember to encourage your providers to take their PTO.

Resources to support providers and looking towards the future

According to a study on physician suicide before the pandemic, an estimated 300 physicians die by suicide every year, and that rate has continued to increase. It’s becoming more important to keep an eye on depression and anxiety for physicians during this difficult time. Many providers are leaving the profession or retiring early, which is also contributing to the provider shortage. By ensuring our providers are feel mentally and emotionally well, we can keep more people in the profession and provide the best quality possible.

There are a few resources that can help you manage clinician burnout from an individual level and organizational level. These toolkits, TEDTalks, and guides can help you prevent burnout for yourself and advocate for a healthier workplace culture. Here are a few resources:

  1. TEDTalks: TED has a list of TEDTalks that can help you mitigate burnout. They share great information on how to bounce back and get you back in the groove of everyday life through various tips and tricks.
  2. The American Psychiatrist Association Toolkit for Well-Being Ambassadors: This slide deck can help you support, advocate, and spread awareness about burnout in your organization. The APA also has a toolkit, manual, and flyer to help you address the burnout needs in your workplace.
  3. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): AHRQ’s guide on physician burnout shows the causes of burnout and lists research-backed interventions for clinician burnout.

Where Iris Telehealth can help

At Iris Telehealth, we strive to make implementing a telepsychiatry solution for your organization as easy as possible. We take care of the paperwork, credentialing, and licensing for providers. Iris can work alongside you every step of the way to help take the burden off of providers and your organization. Contact us today to see if our telepsychiatry services can help your providers and organization provide high-quality care for your patients.

How Telehealth Promotes Top of License Work

As a mental health professional, helping patients get the care they need is essential to your work. However, for clinicians living in states with greater barriers to practice, connecting patients with the right resources and care isn’t always possible. Whether you’re bogged down with administrative tasks, restricted by red tape, or frustrated with access issues, you may feel the strain of not being able to practice at the top of your license.

Thankfully, telehealth makes it easier for patients and providers to connect, regardless of geographical and regulatory barriers. This level of access allows patients to get the best care possible and enables providers to practice at the top of their licenses.

Keep reading to learn more about the challenges of working in restrictive states and how telemental health can help you operate at the top of your license.

Top challenges for providers working in restricted states

So, what challenges might you encounter if you’re a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) practicing on-site in a restrictive state? Let’s take a closer look at a few:

  • Maintaining collaborating physicians: If you’re a PMHNP working in a state that requires a collaborating physician, you understand there’s always a chance they might suddenly be unable to provide oversight that would allow you to practice at the top of your license – and leaving patients without access to proper care. In some cases, finding a new collaborating physician can take months.
  • Minimal patient resources: In certain states, there are more restrictions and fewer resources for patients. These limitations can keep a provider from practicing to the full extent of their license and inhibit their ability to do more for patients.
  • Potential for burnout: Working on-site in a restrictive state can be bad for morale. While the goal is to provide the best possible patient care, some patients may have little to no options based on state restrictions.

Practicing behavioral health remotely removes the limitations placed on providers based on where they live. For example, if you live in a state with a highly restricted practice environment, telemental health allows you to live where you want and still have autonomous practice, without the need of a supervising or collaborating physician. Additionally, when working with an organization like Iris Telehealth, you’re ensured a collaborating physician if necessary.

Along with these benefits, it can also help you work with a population you love.

Help the population you love without limitations

As a behavioral health provider, you’ve likely spent a lot of time figuring out what population you wanted to work with. However, depending on where you live, making the most of your education and providing care to the specific population you love might not always be an option. Remote behavioral health work makes it possible for you to work with the communities you’ve always wanted to impact, regardless of where you or your patients are in the country.

Additionally, some organizations, like Iris Telehealth, offer job matching services that keep your clinical preferences in mind, letting you choose what population you want to work with and whether or not you want to work in an autonomous state. So you don’t have to choose between working with the communities you love and working at the top of your license.

Want to learn more about the job matching process? Check out our guide for all the details!

Gain more support for top of license work

Working in telemental health can help eliminate everyday tasks that keep you from working at the top of your license and give you a leg up in areas that will help support your practice. Here’s how:

  • Care team collaboration: Having a care team of professionals you can lean on for expertise is essential. At Iris, our provider network is expansive and creates a resource for advice and support. This access to other psychiatrists, case managers, and social workers ensures you always have the support you need and lets you focus on appointments and follow-ups. It also means you don’t have to worry about other tasks that fall outside your scope.
  • Less admin work: Licensing and credentialing takes a lot of time and attention. That’s why working with an organization that takes care of that process is highly beneficial. At Iris, we help our providers get licensed in the states where they want to work and take care of all the tedious parts of that process. That way, you can focus on what they do best – providing quality patient care.
  • Diversify your skill set: When you work remotely, you can work with populations you may not have had the opportunity to work with otherwise. This access gives you more diversity in your patient panel work, allowing you to tap into different demographics and expand your knowledge and skill set.
  • Connect with top organizations: When working with a telehealth solution like Iris, you can trust that you’re getting connected with the leading organizations in the country. We ensure all our partner organizations are aligned with our standards for appointment times, have thought through how telehealth will work for them, and will support our providers.

Additionally, if the organization is strictly remote, we ensure they’ve thought through how their patients will get things like vitals and weight measured if they’re being seen from home, what their route to care will be like, and have whatever they need for appointments.

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

At Iris, we believe that our providers should be celebrated and applauded for the work they do. If you’re an LCSW, PMHNP, or psychiatrist interested in telemental health work, contact us today.

Telepsych 101: Commonly asked questions about becoming a telemental health provider

Remote behavioral health work has many benefits, like flexible schedules, self-care opportunities, and no commute, leaving you with more time to do the things you love. Remote behavioral health work, like telepsychiatry, offers psychiatrists, LCSWs, and PMHNPs the chance to make a real impact on the communities they love, from wherever they are in the country.

But what does a career in telehealth look like? We’re breaking down all the commonly asked questions providers have as they get started in their telehealth careers. Keep reading to learn what documentation in a virtual space looks like, how telehealth can help you meet your clinical preferences, and how working with the right organization can help you streamline the licensing and credentialing process.

1. What does documentation look like in a virtual environment?

The type of electronic medical records (EMR) an organization uses varies site-to-site. But, regardless of what kind of documentation they’re using, you should have support and training that sets you up for success. When looking for a telepsychiatry provider to work for, ensuring they can provide top-notch support is essential.

At Iris Telehealth, we ensure you have a telepsych champion on-site at the healthcare organization where you’re placed to help answer any questions you may have. We also provide ample training and support to ensure you feel confident and comfortable with your EMR.

Additionally, as a behavioral health provider, you’ve likely used several EMRs before and may have preferences for which ones you like using the most. Your experiences matter, and at Iris we take them into account when matching you with the right organization.

To learn more about this topic, check out our EMR best practices for remote providers blog.

2. How does telepsychiatry meet provider preferences?

Good conversations upfront are critical to ensuring an excellent organizational match. And, if the telehealth company you’re interviewing for isn’t getting to know your needs, it’s likely a red flag. Considering what your dream job looks like, determining your negotiables, and defining your deal breakers are all things you should be having conversations about before getting placed at a new clinic.

At Iris, we get to know provider preferences by asking about the days they’d like to work, their time zones, their preferred setting, and what population they want to work with. We also want to know how much time our providers want for documentation and notes.

We know from experience that when our providers are happy and have found a healthcare organization that meets your clinical preferences, patients get higher quality care. So, ensuring you’re working with an organization that keeps all your wants, needs, and considerations in mind is critical.

3. What does remote work look like?

Flexibility is one of the most significant benefits of working remotely. Stepping outside after a long session, cutting out your daily commute, and having more time for family and friends are all things remote work can provide.

As a remote behavioral health provider, you may be working in one state and remoting into another. That’s what makes the clinical environment so important.

At Iris, placing you somewhere you love is our priority. If you want to work in a state where you’re not licensed, Iris will cover the costs and provide the support you need to work where you love.

4. As a PMHNP, will I be provided with medical supervision?

Working with a telehealth provider that’s got your back with all the support you need is essential. That might take shape by way of a top-notch IT team, supportive supervisors, and help with paperwork. For PMHNPs, it also means making sure you’ve got medical collaboration in states where it’s required. At Iris, we ensure you’ve got a collaborating physician (usually another Iris provider).

5. What does the licensing and credentialing look like for teleheatlh?

Going through the process of licensing and credentialing can be challenging. That’s why working with a telehealth organization that does the lion’s share of the work can be a game changer.

At Iris, we take care of that process for you. We gather all the needed information, like fingerprints and documents, to licensing and credentialing as easy for you as possible. While the licensing and credentialing timeline is variable, once you’ve determined the healthcare organization you want to work with, we lay out all relevant timelines so you’ll know what to expect.

Get started in telehealth today

Whether you’re considering telehealth for the first time or just getting started in your career, Iris is here to help you get started. If you’re looking for more information about a job at Iris, check out this recording of our recent virtual career fair. If you’d like to chat with someone at Iris, contact us today.

How ED Telehealth Improves Access and Patient Satisfaction

Is your emergency department (ED) becoming the go-to for behavioral health patients because your psychiatry unit is under too much pressure?

If so, you’re not alone.

The United States is experiencing a shortage of psychiatrists and mental health providers — and it’s not expected to get better. Community and inpatient resources for mental health care are dwindling. With fewer providers, appointments, and specialized psychiatric facilities available, more and more behavioral health patients are coming to the ED as a last resort.

This mental health crisis can have big implications for your health system, including:

  • Increased length of stay
  • Higher admission and transfer rates
  • Long wait times
  • Poor patient satisfaction

In this post, we’ll share how you can improve patient satisfaction by implementing an emergency department (ED) telehealth program, increase access to care, and integrate solutions like telepsychiatry across departments. We’ll also discuss three things you can consider when implementing telepsychiatry for your health systems or hospitals.

ED telehealth services improve patient satisfaction and access

ED telehealth services like telepsychiatry allow hospitals to give patients faster access to high-quality psychiatric care through a virtual visit. This level of access means behavioral health patients don’t have to wait for hours to receive treatment from their ED physician. In addition, they can bypass an in-person consultation from a psychiatric provider, which can mean a shorter length of stay in the ED.

One study even found that a virtual visit conducted in the ED lasted 30-45 minutes — in stark contrast to traditional in-person ED visits, which can take 2 to 2.5 hours.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients have increasingly welcomed telemedicine into their healthcare journey as they seek more convenience and partnership with their healthcare providers. A study published in 2021 found that around 82% of respondents considered a virtual visit as good as an in-person visit by a clinician.

That means ED telehealth providers can offer a more comfortable, high-quality, and efficient ED experience for patients experiencing critical mental health conditions.

Telehealth services increase hospital discharge and follow-up rates

Studies have found that EDs that don’t use ED telehealth services like telepsychiatry are three times more likely to have used observation services to reduce ED crowding. However, these observation services often result in high admission and transfer rates.

Observation services can also prove costly because they often require an investment in additional staffing. To make matters worse, many hospitals and health systems struggle to meet Medicare’s requirement to follow up with behavioral health patients within seven days of discharge.

The current approach to behavioral health management is not sustainable given an evolving healthcare landscape that’s more focused on value than on the number of services provided.

ED telehealth services improve patient outcomes and reduce use of limited resources

For example, Iris Telehealth provides hospitals and health systems with highly qualified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners who can support your ED by:

  • Assessing whether the hospital can discharge a patient instead of admitting or transferring them.
  • Starting treatment during a visit so the patient doesn’t have to wait for an in-person psychiatric consultation or follow-up visit.
  • Providing follow-ups for patients discharged from the hospital, thus ensuring continuity of care and Medicare compliance.

With a telepsychiatry vendor supporting your ED care team, patients are more likely to receive specialized, appropriate, and efficient care. This optimized care frees up more ED and inpatient beds for patients with medical or surgical issues. As a result, hospitals and health systems save more on costs due to reduced boarding times as well as lower admission and transfer rates.

While telepsychiatry can positively impact behavioral health patients in the ED, hospitals and health systems can also leverage the service in other patient care areas.

The future of telehealth in the ED

As patient needs grow more complex, we’re discovering opportunities for services like telepsychiatry in other departments besides the ED.

Aside from incorporating virtual care services into their inpatient psychiatric wards, health systems can expand telepsychiatry in palliative and hospice care. In these departments, patients and caregivers may need substantial behavioral health support to manage anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.

At the end of the day, targeted, comprehensive care will be crucial to boosting patient outcomes and hospital revenue.

Incorporating telepsychiatry into your hospital or health system

If you’re interested in implementing a telepsychiatry program to support behavioral health patients, know that the most crucial step is choosing a telepsychiatry vendor you trust.
Here are three major factors you should consider:

  1. Technology: As with all changes to hospital culture, hospital staff may seem reluctant to accept a new telepsychiatry platform. For this reason, many of our partners have seen value in the fact that we are technology-neutral. Our providers can work with your electronic health record or telehealth platform, so your staff doesn’t have to worry about learning how to use a brand new platform.
  2. Regulatory Standards: The telehealth boom has triggered regulatory changes that carry various implications on billing, risk management, and consenting practices, to name a few. It’s important to partner with a vendor who is knowledgeable about these changes to help ensure compliance and maximize reimbursement from payers.
  3. Goal Commitment: Whether your goals are decreasing ED wait times, increasing patient satisfaction, or spending less money on observation services, you need a consistent partner you can trust to achieve them.

If you partner with Iris Telehealth, you’ll receive access to a dedicated telepsychiatry care team that’s committed to your hospital or health system’s vision for behavioral health services.

We’ll help you develop realistic goals along with an action plan to implement your telepsychiatry program properly. You can also count on us to effectively and quickly remedy challenges that may arise during implementation (e.g., staff acceptance, technical issues).

Building a successful telepsychiatry program can seem overwhelming. But we’re here to make the process more manageable and less stressful. Contact us — we’ll provide the information your hospital or health system needs to reshape the future of behavioral health care.

How a PMHNP Telehealth Strategy Can Benefit Your Healthcare Organization

Over the past few years, the number of Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) has been steadily increasing — passing the 12,000 mark in 2016.

In many states, PMHNPs can evaluate, diagnose, and prescribe medication to patients — just like their psychiatric counterparts. That means organizations can incorporate PMHNPs into their overarching strategies to help address provider shortages, meet patient needs, and decrease wait times.

Healthcare organizations looking to expand access to behavioral health services may be wondering which provider type is best for their community. Here is all the information needed to make an informed decision about hiring a PMHNP.

PMHNPs are highly-trained psychiatric care providers who can provide comparable treatment to psychiatrists

Due to the nationwide provider shortage, finding psychiatrists for your care team might not be an option. Thankfully, PMHNPs are just as equipped to provide the high-quality care patients need. While PMHNPs and psychiatrists have different training and education requirements, the treatment they can provide is very similar.

  • PMHNPs and psychiatrists have graduate-level education. PMHNPs are required to have either a Master’s or Doctorate in nursing to sit for the PMHNP certification exam.
  • Once a PMHNP is certified, they can practice across the patient lifespan. This ability means they can treat children, adolescents, adults, and geriatric populations.
  • Psychiatrists can also treat patients across their lifespan. However, PMHNPs often opt to undergo further fellowship training that equips them to treat specialized patient populations.
  • Both PMHNPs and psychiatrists are eligible to earn an X-waiver, which allows them to prescribe buprenorphine to treat patients with substance use disorders.

PMHNPs receive training around holistic care — which makes them a good provider fit for CMHCs and FQHCs

PMHNPs can significantly benefit your organization, especially if you serve patients from vulnerable populations, like Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).

Recent studies have found that the quality of PMHNP care is similar or equal to that of psychiatrists. Additionally, much of the training they receive works well for the kinds of patient populations CMHCs and FQHCs often see.

Like psychiatrists, all PMHNPs receive training around assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients with mental health needs. However, PMHNPs also focus on holistic care, and they have skills and experience in treating the whole patient.

Their specialized training includes:

  • Psychotherapy and behavioral health conditions: PMHNPs receive extensive training in psychotherapy and can effectively treat common behavioral health conditions, including mood disorders, anxiety, substance use, depression, ADHD, and schizophrenia.
  • Crisis intervention and directing patient care planning: PMNHPs have experience in crisis intervention and can utilize de-escalation techniques to support patients who enter your health center in a state of distress. PMHNPs are also skilled at care coordination and can help provide consultations and referrals to psychiatrists and other specialists if a patient’s case requires it.
  • Collaborative care: PMHNPs are trained to work in collaborative care teams, where they may work with psychiatrists, social workers, community managers, or nurses to find a care plan that can treat a specific patient’s needs effectively.
  • Effective communication with patient families: PMHNPs are equipped to interact with patient families or caregivers — particularly when treating young patients or patients from vulnerable populations.

If these skills and experiences would benefit your organization, a PMHNP may be a good fit for you.

If you’re considering hiring a PMHNP, make sure you understand your state’s regulations

Unlike psychiatrists, PMHNPs are subject to state regulations that dictate the kind of care they can provide. For example, a PMHNP in Texas could see patients and provide assessment and diagnosis. However, they would not be able to prescribe without having an established Prescriptive Authority Agreement in place with a physician. However, in Oregon, a PMHNP can prescribe medication without a physician’s collaboration and can even practice independently.

States fall into three regulatory categories:

  1. Full practice: In full practice states, PMHNPs can evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients by prescribing medications without consulting with a physician. In these states, PMHNPs can also set up independent practices. There are currently 23 full practice states across the country.
  2. Reduced practice: Reduced practice states limit PMHNPs’ ability to practice fully and independently. Often, PMHNPs will be required to hold a collaborative agreement with a psychiatrist in order to provide full patient care and prescribe medications to treat their patients.
  3. Restricted practice: In restricted practice states, PMHNPs must work directly with a psychiatrist or other healthcare provider and cannot prescribe medications to patients without that psychiatrist’s supervision. There are currently 12 restricted practice states in the U.S.

When considering which provider type to hire, you should research what kinds of regulations exist in your state. If you live in a restrictive state, plan to have consulting psychiatrists available to prescribe medication in collaboration with your PMHNP. Telehealth can offer a better solution to connect patients with care while working in their scope of practice, regardless of where nurse practitioners practice.

Hiring PMHNPs can be a challenging task, so consider the recruitment resources available

If you’ve decided PMHNPs are a good fit for your organization, there are several recruitment options and partners you can consider:

Nurse practitioner associations: If you’re looking for a local PMHNP, you can research nurse practitioner associations at the regional and state level. These associations often have job boards where you can post potential openings and get your position in front of qualified candidates.

Local universities: Universities with nursing programs will often also have job boards and can be beneficial partners when looking for a PMHNP in your area.

Telepsychiatry: Telepsychiatry partners like Iris Telehealth can be valuable resources to help your organization source and vet potential PMHNPs utilizing telehealth before adding them to your team. Using a service like this will give you access to PMHNPs at a national level, opening up a network of qualified providers and helping to get them licensed in your state.

Provider matching: Finding the right provider for your organization is key to the success of your patients and your care team. That’s why at Iris, we help organizations find a provider who meets their organization’s needs and aligns with their team’s culture and values. This process, called provider matching, helps bring stability to organizations, providers, and the patients they serve.

Your decision to use a PMHNP should be all about your patients

Because psychiatrists’ availability is limited across the country, particularly in rural communities, it’s essential to consider how your organization can best serve your patient populations and provide high-quality care.

PMHNPs bring valuable experience dealing with sick patients and vulnerable populations, which can be a major benefit to your organization. This is particularly true for CMHCs and FQHCs, who often see a high volume of patients from vulnerable populations.

PMHNPs are also incredibly passionate about their work. In an interview with one of our own PMHNPs, Dale McQueeney, she says that one of the most rewarding parts of her job is seeing patients reduce use or achieve and maintain abstinence from substances.

Most importantly, PMHNPs can serve as key behavioral health providers. They can extend access to your services, meet patient needs, decrease wait times, and become long-term, collaborative team members.

To learn more about how Iris Telehealth can help you source PMHNPs for telehealth, contact us, and we’ll help you get started.

How to Treat Geriatric Populations in Health Systems

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15% of adults aged 60 and over have a mental health condition. However, less than 3% of older adults receive treatment from mental health professionals. In some cases, this lack of care is due to inadequate access to mental health services, stigma, or other medical conditions that might need attention, too.

With the proportion of the world’s older adults estimated to almost double from about 12% to 22% between 2015 and 2050, it is more imperative than ever to start addressing both the physical and mental needs of this population.

Thankfully, telepsychiatry can connect older adults to quality mental health care, effective screening, evaluation, and treatment.

The state of mental health and aging

For older adults, there are several barriers that stand between them and getting the mental health care they need. These barriers might include access challenges, unnoticed behavioral health conditions, or co-occurring physical conditions that require treatment. Additionally, according to Mental Health America, 58% believe depression is a normal part of getting older, and only 42% of older adults would seek help from a health professional for depression.

This population can also be vulnerable to other mental health challenges like trauma and anxiety. Unfortunately, many of these conditions go untreated or undiagnosed, resulting in frequent doctor visits, emergency department visits, higher use of medication, and extended hospital stays.

While this population faces unique challenges, there is still great opportunity for them to get the mental health care they need.

How organizations can help effectively treat geriatric populations

As an organization, you can help support the geriatric population in your community by providing access to mental health care through telepsychiatry. Telepsychiatry is an essential tool that helps this population virtually connect with providers without having to navigate through waiting rooms or receive unnecessary exposure to outside elements. When patients connect with a provider from the comfort of their own home, it allows them to receive the care they need from wherever they are.

Whether your organization is seeing a large influx of older adults needing mental health care or you’ve just started integrating telepsychiatry, here are a few tips you can leverage to better serve this population.

Here’s how organizations can take action to offer a more effective and comfortable experience for older adults:

  1. Promote collaboration: The ED can be a costly and high-risk endeavor for older adults. That’s why having support for caregivers and providers can be essential. Before older adults need emergency department (ED) intervention, leveraging telepsychiatry can be a great way to de-escalate situations. Collaborating with caregivers and specialty care providers through telepsychiatry can allow older adults to receive mental health care from anywhere in the country.
  2. Empower caregivers: Caregivers may be juggling the care of their loved ones with their own full-time jobs, families, and even their personal health. As a solution, telehealth offers a new way to bring training to caregivers on their own time. Sharing strategies with caregivers about home safety and medical care through telehealth allows for a better quality of life for the older adults they provide care for at home. Equipping them with the right skills and techniques to care for their loved ones can be a beneficial resource for keeping older adults healthy at home.
  3. Intervene early: Having decision trees or care pathways in place for your providers to follow can keep older adult patients healthy between appointments. Rather than waiting, it’s better to intervene early by starting with screening. Leveraging the expertise of specialty mental health providers can relieve stress on care teams and take the pressure off primary care providers through collaborative care.
  4. Establish memory care units or dementia care: Memory care units or dementia care units can provide older adults with individualized services if diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. It can also provide a safe environment for easy monitoring while promoting independence.
  5. Take a holistic approach: Provider collaboration leads to a holistic approach to patient care. While addressing the physical health of this population is essential, it’s important to screen them for mental health conditions as well. Telepsychiatry can offer an easier way to diagnose older adults and mitigate emergency intervention. Additionally, integrating a virtual care option can support your on-site team by allowing them to collaborate with other providers.

Promoting access to geriatric mental health through telepsychiatry

Providing telepsychiatry to older adults increases their access to the specialty mental health care they need. While this population may face a stigma that says they’re not tech-savvy, it isn’t true.

Technology usage among older adults has increased during the pandemic. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) reports that 44% of older adults view technology as a positive way to stay connected. In addition, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) says that telepsychiatry has helped treat many behavioral health conditions like dementia, anxiety, and others since the late 1900s.

Telepsychiatry for the geriatric population provides patients with a sense of autonomy while extending services to those who cannot leave their homes. As technology usage increases, older adults can feel at ease knowing they have options to take care of their health.

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

At Iris, we believe that everyone should have access to mental health services in their community. If you’re an organization looking to incorporate telepsychiatry for your geriatric population, we can help. Contact us today if you would like to learn more about how telepsychiatry can help provide behavioral health services and increase access for older adults in your community.

5 Ways Telepsychiatry Will Impact the Future of Behavioral Health

As the healthcare industry evolves, one thing is certain: telehealth is here to stay. In fact, we believe that telepsychiatry is revolutionizing the way healthcare organizations approach behavioral health.

Below we share five ways telepsychiatry is shaping the future of behavioral health and how your organization and patients can benefit.

1. Telepsychiatry equalizes behavioral healthcare access nationwide

Telepsychiatry is far from new. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Iris Telehealth worked with healthcare organizations to leverage telepsychiatry to provide quality behavioral health care.

However, due to federal and state-wide telehealth restrictions, many patients were cut off from quality care due to their geographical location.

In fact, a 2018 Pew Research Center survey found that 25% of rural residents travel approximately 34 minutes to get to the nearest hospital. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) also reports that 150 million people live in mental health professional shortage areas. To make matters worse, many rural hospitals suffer from these shortages, and the AAMC says the country will be short between 14,280 and 31,109 psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers in a few years.

However, after COVID-19 started impacting communities across the country, telehealth restrictions loosened, and suddenly millions of patients had the option to meet with their healthcare providers via a smartphone or another digital device. And, this level of access has continued.

By utilizing telehealth for behavioral health, Patients in both urban and rural locations can use telepsychiatry to access psychiatric services faster and get the care they need. They can also overcome financial constraints to psychiatric care, such as having to miss work or arrange childcare to travel to a psychiatrist’s office.

2. Telehealth increases medication adherence and follow-up visits

Mental health patients are often subject to being labeled with terms, such as “noncompliant,” “difficult,” and “frequent flyer.” But underneath these stigmas lies a stark truth: many of these patients are facing evidence-based barriers that prevent them from continuing their psychiatric care.

These barriers include:

  • Socioeconomic obstacles (e.g., poverty, lack of insurance coverage)
  • Feelings of guilt and shame
  • Misunderstandings around their mental health condition
  • Mistrust toward healthcare providers

Comprehensive patient support is vital to eliminating these hurdles. This support includes extensive education, accurate diagnosis, and targeted treatment from compassionate psychiatric providers – including through telehealth.

Through telepsychiatry, healthcare organizations can drive patient engagement while helping patients overcome stigmas, attend follow-up appointments, and strengthen medication adherence.

In fact, according to a recent 2022 Health Care Insights Study conducted by CVS Health, researchers found that over half of consumers say the availability of virtual mental health services would increase their chances of seeking care.

3. Telepsychiatry enhances patient-provider flexibility

For both patients and providers, long wait times are often a significant burden in behavioral healthcare. Telepsychiatry can help solve these issues by decreasing the time it takes for mental health patients to see a psychiatric provider.

Rather than waiting hours for an in-person visit, patients can speak with a telepsychiatry provider in minutes. Telepsychiatry meets patients wherever they are — whether in their home or another remote location. In addition, patients can receive information about their care (from the telepsychiatry provider) via text message or email.

This flexibility delivers greater patient satisfaction and wellbeing —all while lightning staff workflows and allowing healthcare organizations to grow their cost savings.

4. Telepsychiatry boosts collaboration among stakeholders

Innovations like artificial intelligence and telepsychiatry have given new meaning to collaboration. For example, in telepsychiatry, we can use the patient data — obtained from digital forms and other health tools — to guide psychiatric care and communicate more precise, targeted insights to the healthcare team.

We’ve also seen stronger collaboration among legislators in the form of bipartisan telehealth policies designed to address real patient concerns, including mental health care. This leads us to believe that telepsychiatry will continue to add significant value to providers and patients long after the pandemic.

However, there’s still a lot of work to be done. For starters, there are only hints of what telehealth reimbursement will look like going forward. Therefore, it’s important for healthcare organizations to stay on top of federal, state, and FDA developments. This focus will ensure your organization makes well-informed decisions when it comes to psychiatric patient care and support.

5. Telepsychiatry aids in the shift to value-based care

The healthcare industry is increasingly leaning towards value-based care — most notably, population health. This shift means the traditional fee-for-service model is slowly disappearing, thereby motivating healthcare organizations to remove silos and take a more holistic approach to patient care.

It can be challenging to understand all the different aspects of population health, let alone develop cost-effective strategies to implement it. That’s why it’s crucial to partner with vendors that can help your organization achieve sustainable population-health success.

For example, partnering with a technology-neutral provider like Iris Telehealth saves you from having to invest in a special software platform, electronic medical record (EMR), or equipment. By partnering with a technology-neutral vendor, qualified psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners will utilize your organization’s existing EMR and equipment.

That means an easier transition to a long-term telepsychiatry program, cost savings, more satisfied staff, and most importantly, better mental and population health outcomes.

The bottom line

Telepsychiatry has become the new normal and will continue to impact the telehealth behavioral health space in big ways. Whether it’s opening up access to quality care or helping EDs meet high patient demand, there’s no doubt that telepsychiatry has created a brighter future for behavioral health care.

People are leaning on telehealth as a tool to help them meet their mental health needs and the data speaks for itself:

    • 93% of providers believe virtual visits increased the chances of patients keeping their appointments
    • 71% of consumers believe virtual mental health services would be more convenient
    • 57% of providers believe access to mental health professionals would be very helpful to their patient population

If you’re looking for highly qualified, compassionate psychiatrists and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, Iris Telehealth can help. Contact us for more information about starting a telepsychiatry program that can improve your organization’s behavioral health outcomes.

How to Improve Child and Adolescent Care in Health Systems

Over the last several years, children in the U.S. have faced increased rates of mental health challenges and more barriers to the specialty care they need. Whether it’s long wait times, provider shortage constraints, or social determinants of health, getting care isn’t easy.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),1 in 5 children have a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder. Still, only about 20% receive care from a specialized mental health provider. This lack of access and increase in mental health challenges has been declared a national mental health emergency.

Thankfully, there are solutions in place to help increase access to mental health care for this population and help improve their experience in health systems and emergency departments across the country.

Best practices for providers treating children and adolescents

For families, seeking care for a mental health need can feel overwhelming. For children, it may feel like one of the hardest days of their lives. However, with the right support and best practices in places, providers and organizations can set children and families up for success.

Let’s take a look at a few approaches providers can take to create a more comfortable experience for children and their families:

  1. Acknowledge that the child is in crisis: Being in a psych unit can be daunting for anyone, and it’s especially stressful for children during an evaluation. That’s why acknowledging the feelings and emotions children and families may be experiencing is critical. By supporting them emotionally, you can help reassure them that their feelings are valid and create a more positive introduction to the health system.
  2. Work in conjunction with telepsychiatry providers: If your healthcare organization has partnered with a telepsychiatry solution, you have access to remote specialty providers with behavioral health expertise. This access to clinicians like psychiatrists, LCSWs, and PMHNPs, offers a great opportunity to collaborate and utilize their knowledge as a resource. Specialists can help guide the patient to the next level of care and offer valuable insights. By collaborating with other providers, your care team can enable comprehensive care and better health outcomes.
  3. Offer resources and support for families: Entering the mental health system for the first time can be scary, especially for children and families. Families may not know where to go or how to navigate the system. However, by leading with an empathetic approach and offering guidance, families may feel more comfortable with the process. By taking the time to hear them, see them, and direct them to the right resources, you can help children and families have a more positive experience.

Resources and training opportunities for providers

There are plenty of resources available for providers to learn more about best practices and sharpen their skills.

Here are a few resources and continuing education opportunities that can help set providers up to facilitate the best care possible to youth entering your health system:

  1. Medscape’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Learning Center: Medscape’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Learning Center offers several continuing education opportunities. Their learning center cover topics frequently encountered while treating children and adolescents in health systems, like youth suicide rates and risk, ADHD medication misuse, and mental health surveillance among children.
  2. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP): The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a non-profit organization that focuses on topics related to youth and adolescent psychiatric care. They offer clinically relevant, evidence-based pediatric resources for providers and can range from self-study courses, lectures from AACAP speakers, and tests.
  3. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): The American Academy of Pediatrics is a professional organization made up of physicians who focus on child and adolescent health care. They offer an assortment of video series and telehealth resources that are designed to help providers care for children and adolescents with mental health concerns. For example, they have a video series about how to help adolescents feel in control during times of distress which can be applied in the emergency department.

Telepsychiatry can bridge gaps in mental health care

Telepsychiatry is a powerful tool that can help children get the care they need, when they need it. Telepsychiatry is especially essential for children and families living in rural areas given 70% of American counties do not have a child psychiatrist. Telepsychiatry has been a significant solution in getting children the mental health care they need, no matter their proximity to the necessary specialty care.

When families have a virtual visit as an option for care, they no longer need to travel long distances to get support for their child’s mental health needs. Telepsychiatry helps support continuity of care and gives families the flexibility to make it to their appointments. Parents don’t have to take off work, kids don’t have to miss school, and providers can work from the comfort of their own home, too.

For organizations, telepsychiatry helps increase the number of specialty providers available to their community. Additionally, it can also help give on-site providers an opportunity to lean on remote providers for their behavioral health expertise. This collaboration allows for high-quality care and better patient outcomes.

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

At Iris, we help ensure that children and families can get the high-quality, specialty care they need. That’s why we work hard to match healthcare organizations with the specialty providers they need to help their communities thrive – regardless of geographic barriers.

Contact us today if you would like to learn more about how telepsychiatry can help provide behavioral health services and increase access for children and adolescents in your community.