Story on AHA report highlights region鈥檚 mental health crisis
Mountain West region faces critical mental health worker shortage
The Mountain West region of the United States faces a critical shortage of mental health professionals, according to a by the Mountain West News Bureau, citing a new AHA report on the health care access challenges facing the nation鈥檚 rural communities and federal policies to address them. The mental health worker shortage 鈥渋s crisis-level in a lot of communities,鈥 says Konnie Martin, CEO of San Luis Valley Health in Alamosa, Colo., noting that there isn鈥檛 a single psychiatrist in her six-county region. Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Colorado are among the top 10 states for suicide, the publication notes.
Providence St. Joseph Health company offers population health services
Renton, Wash.-based Providence St. Joseph Health has launched a population health management company, Modern Healthcare . Ayin Health Solutions will leverage the health system鈥檚 experience to help payers, providers and government entities lower costs and improve care through a focus on population health, the publication said.
Aetna, others try new approach to educate doctors on alternatives to opioids
Aetna recently partnered with a company called Alosa Health to bring pain treatment educators to physician offices in Pennsylvania, Maine, Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia 鈥 states hit hard by opioid overdose deaths, the Washington Post . The doctor drop-ins are modeled on those used by pharmaceutical sales representatives but target appropriate use of opioids and pain treatment alternatives. Kaiser Permanente and the Department of Veterans Affairs also use the approach, according to the report.