In this episode of AccessOne’s “The Modern Patient Experience”, Dr. Josh Israel, Sr. Medical Director of Clinical Quality at Aledade discusses the current state of mental healthcare in the U.S. Despite the increased discussions around mental healthcare, Dr. Israel says the talk isn’t resulting in progress, and the patient experience for behavioral healthcare treatment is still pretty terrible.
As a clinical psychiatrist by trade, Dr. Israel discusses the current roadblocks in mental healthcare, such as provider shortages, insurance opt-outs, and ineffective referral models. This comes on top of the already existing negative stigma and anxiety that’s tied to seeking care for mental health. Dr. Israel notes that the consequences of an ineffective mental health system are drastic, with an increased amount of people missing work, negative effects on patient medical care, and an overall increase in patient suffering.
But not all hope is lost. Dr. Israel examines what needs to change, including higher reimbursement rates, more streamlined integration into primary care offices, and the expansion of the training pipeline for mental health providers.