Operational Considerations for Responding to Increased Demand for Telemental Health Services

April 16, 2019 | 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. CDT

The session will begin with a discussion from Scott Ashwood, a RAND researcher who has published widely on telehealth, on trends in telemental health use nationally, including data on whether clients choosing to use telehealth are new healthcare consumers or are existing users opting for a new mode of care delivery. Next, Rajeev Ramchand, Sr. Vice President of Research at Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a network of behavioral health clinics offering low- or no-cost behavioral health care to veterans and their families, will describe their network’s experience offering telemental health, including data on patients who are exclusive telemental health users, those who convert to telemental health during the course of treatment, or those who toggle between the two modes of care.

Both speakers will then discuss how behavioral healthcare providers offering telehealth have shifted or are considering changing existing operational procedures to better accommodate trends in demand for telemental health. This includes changes in recruiting (e.g., remote work solutions to be able to recruit providers across a state), staffing (e.g., hiring more providers to accommodate increased demand), workspaces (e.g., smaller footprint for providers who are exclusive telehealth providers), and network solutions (e.g., staffing to continuously monitor and update telehealth software and ensure appropriate data safeguards). Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions throughout the presentation with time set aside at the end for them to share their own experiences in accommodating telemental health demand or implementing telemental health solutions.

Speakers:

• Scott Ashwood, Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
• Rajeev Ramchand, Ph.D, Senior Vice President, Research, Cohen Veterans Network