By Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer
There has been a long debate about the scope of health care practices. What type of licensed clinical professionals can perform particular functions? Should psychologists and/or pharmacists prescribe psychotropic medications? What supervision do nurse practitioners and physician assistants need? (Should ‘physician assistants’ be renamed ‘physician associates’?)
Psychologists can prescribe in five states: Louisiana, New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, and Idaho (see Can Psychologists Prescribe Medications?). The scope of pharmacists’ practices is state-dependent and varies widely from state-to-state (see Mapping U.S. Statewide Protocols For Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority). Pharmacists may or may not give injections and immunizations and prescribe everything from naloxone, tobacco cession aids, travel medications, and more. Physician Assistants are licensed to practice in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, all US territories, and the uniformed services. Physician Assistants are authorized to prescribe medications in all jurisdictions where they are licensed, except Puerto Rico (see PA Prescribing and Assessing Scope of Practice in Health Care Delivery: Critical Questions in Assuring Public Access and Safety).
Executives of health and human service organizations need to plan to leverage the ‘value’ of their clinical team members by developing systems where they can work at the ‘top of their practice’—with most of their time going to the services that require their specific level of training. But that is easy to say and much harder to accomplish in practice. This type of service specialization is an essential part of the specialization needed to achieve maximum operational efficiency—and the highest value.
But there are two factors that complicate plans for specialization to increase value. The first is that in systems that are increasingly rewarded for a ‘whole person’ approach to care—which runs contrary to specialization. The second is that health care treatment technologies are reaching a level of sophistication that they can be a replacement for some of the work of licensed clinical professionals. The key for executive teams is using technology to address both of these issues. The first is ‘virtual integration’—creating a singular consumer data set that is available to all health care professionals. The second is to use data—both small data and big data—to develop algorithms that curate the recommendation of treatment services for specific consumers—both treatment technology and the most appropriate clinical professional. These are essentials to sustainability—building organizational efficiencies that result in competitive advantage.
For more on our coverage of efficiency and effectiveness in staffing models—and in emerging treatment technology, check out these resources in the OPEN MINDS Industry Library.
Scope of Practice Issues
- Buprenorphine Scope Of Practice Expansion Linked To Increase In Prescriptions Written By Nurse Practitioners
- Medicare Adds Four New Codes For Care Management Of Single Chronic Health Conditions
- Are Your Staffing Plan, Budget, & Operations In Tune With Your Strategic Plan?
- From Soda Fountains To Health Centers: Consumers Are Flocking To The Drugstore Again
- The OPEN MINDS Playbook For Optimizing Workforce Recruitment & Performance
- North Carolina To License Behavior Analysts To Practice Independently
- Ohio Medicaid Allows Pharmacists To Bill For Services Within Community Behavioral Health Organizations
- New Roles For A Pharmacist Near You
- Should Pharmacists Be Part Of Your Care Team?
Digital Treatment Trends & Strategy
- The Bet Is On Digital
- Treatment = Talk+Pharma+Digital
- What’s New In Behavioral Health Treatment Technologies: The Shape Of Things To Come
- Peer Supports? There’s An App For That
- The Addictions Treatment Market: Demand, Digital, Investment, & Expansion
- Technology For The Next Normal—Your EHR Plus What?
- Technology As A Game Changer For I/DD Support Services
- How Does It All Fit Together? Strategic Challenges Similar For Digital Startups & Their Brick-And-Mortar Competitors
Digital Treatment Developments
- Children’s Community Health Plan Is First In Wisconsin To Offer New Digital Therapeutic Treatment For Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder & PTSD
- Indiana Division Of Mental Health & Addiction Providing Access To Pear Therapeutics Prescription Digital Therapeutics reSET & reSET-O For Addiction Treatment
- Akili’s ADHD Digital Therapeutic EndeavorRx Improves Attention In Children With ADHD
- Cerebral Launches Its First Partnership With The National Health Service In The U.K. To Improve Access To Quality Mental Health Care For Children & Young Adults
- Pfizer & Alex Therapeutics Launch Strategic Commercial Partnership To Pilot Digital Therapeutic to Treat Nicotine Addiction In Germany
- Mantra Health Raises $22 Million & Launched A Digital Mental Health Program To Support University Students With Long-Term Mental Health Needs
- HealthRhythms Raises $11 Million Investment & Partners With UCHealth To Scale Up AI-Based Mental Health App
- Rey Announces $10 Million In New Series A Funding To Expand Access To Mental Health Through Digital Capabilities
- Cigna Expands Partnership With RecoveryOne To Offer The Platform To Medicare Advantage Members In A Four-State Region
For more on managing and practicing at the top of your team’s skillsets, join me for The 2022 OPEN MIND Management Best Practices Institute in Newport Beach, California from August 30 to September 1, 2022.