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Home Research Research Library A needs-based method for estimating the behavioral health staff needs of community health centers A needs-based method for estimating the behavioral health staff needs of community health centers 2013 Author(s) Burke, Bridget Teevan, Miller, Benjamin F, Proser, Michelle, Petterson, Stephen M, Bazemore, Andrew W, Goplerud, E, and Phillips, Robert L Topic(s) Role of Primary Care Keyword(s) Practice Organization / Ownership, and Teams Volume BMC Health Services Research Source BMC Health Services Research BACKGROUND: Federally Qualified Health Centers are expanding to increase access for millions of more Americans with a goal of doubling capacity to serve 40 million people. Health centers provide a lot of behavioral health services but many have difficulty accessing mental health and substance use professionals for their patients. To meet the needs of the underserved and newly insured it is important to better estimate how many behavioral health professionals are needed. METHODS: Using health center staffing data and behavioral health service patterns from the 2010 Uniform Data System and the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, we estimated the number of patients likely to need behavioral health care by insurance type, the number of visits likely needed by health center patients annually, and the number of full time equivalent providers needed to serve them. RESULTS: More than 2.5 million patients, 12 or older, with mild or moderate mental illness, and more than 357,000 with substance abuse disorders, may have gone without needed behavioral health services in 2010. This level of need would have required more than 11,600 full time providers. This translates to approximately 0.9 licensed mental health provider FTE, 0.1 FTE psychiatrist, 0.4 FTE other mental health staff, and 0.3 FTE substance abuse provider per 2,500 patients. These estimates suggest that 90% of current centers could not access mental health services or provide substance abuse services to fully meet patients’ needs in 2010. If needs are similar after health center expansion, more than 27,000 full time behavioral health providers will be needed to serve 40 million medical patients, and grantees will need to increase behavioral health staff more than four-fold. CONCLUSIONS: More behavioral health is seen in primary care than in any other setting, and health center clients have greater behavioral health needs than typical primary care patients. Most health centers needed additional behavioral health services in 2010, and this need will be magnified to serve 40 million patients. Further testing of these workforce models are needed, but the degree of current underservice suggests that we cannot wait to move on closing the gap. Read More ABFM Research Read all 2021 Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond Go to Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond 2014 One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally provide Emergency or Urgent Care. Go to One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally provide Emergency or Urgent Care. 2015 Only one third of family physicians can estimate their patient panel size Go to Only one third of family physicians can estimate their patient panel size 2019 Payment Structures That Support Social Care Integration With Clinical Care: Social Deprivation Indices and Novel Payment Models Go to Payment Structures That Support Social Care Integration With Clinical Care: Social Deprivation Indices and Novel Payment Models
Author(s) Burke, Bridget Teevan, Miller, Benjamin F, Proser, Michelle, Petterson, Stephen M, Bazemore, Andrew W, Goplerud, E, and Phillips, Robert L Topic(s) Role of Primary Care Keyword(s) Practice Organization / Ownership, and Teams Volume BMC Health Services Research Source BMC Health Services Research
ABFM Research Read all 2021 Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond Go to Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond 2014 One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally provide Emergency or Urgent Care. Go to One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally provide Emergency or Urgent Care. 2015 Only one third of family physicians can estimate their patient panel size Go to Only one third of family physicians can estimate their patient panel size 2019 Payment Structures That Support Social Care Integration With Clinical Care: Social Deprivation Indices and Novel Payment Models Go to Payment Structures That Support Social Care Integration With Clinical Care: Social Deprivation Indices and Novel Payment Models
2021 Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond Go to Uniting Public Health and Primary Care for Healthy Communities in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond
2014 One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally provide Emergency or Urgent Care. Go to One in Fifteen Family Physicians Principally provide Emergency or Urgent Care.
2015 Only one third of family physicians can estimate their patient panel size Go to Only one third of family physicians can estimate their patient panel size
2019 Payment Structures That Support Social Care Integration With Clinical Care: Social Deprivation Indices and Novel Payment Models Go to Payment Structures That Support Social Care Integration With Clinical Care: Social Deprivation Indices and Novel Payment Models
