The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is pleased to share the Pennsylvania Behavioral Health Telehealth Phase II Roadmap, which was developed in collaboration with the OMHSAS Telehealth Steering Committee and Mercer Government Services Consulting. This report focuses on identifying and prioritizing recommendations for short-term and long-term implementation of telehealth services in the Commonwealth. The roadmap includes example documents developed by the Steering Committee that can be used and personalized by the provider when implementing telehealth services. The work of the Steering Committee and other stakeholders has been and will continue to be vital in ensuring that the behavioral health needs of Pennsylvanians continue to be met.

According to a Conference Board survey, 30% of workers say their level of engagement at work—the commitment and connection that employees feel to their work—is lower than six months ago. Lower engagement, however, isn’t necessarily affecting effort: Only 18% say their level of effort has decreased in the last six months. Fifty percent say it’s the same; 31% say it’s increased.

Loneliness in America is widespread — and it’s a public health problem. According to a Harvard study, more than one in three Americans are lonely. That rises to 61% when looking at younger people, and 51% among mothers with young kids. Read more.

Modern Healthcare reported on Oct. 20, 2022, that nearly 334,000 providers left the healthcare workforce in 2021, driven by burnout and concerns related to the pandemic, according to a report by Definitive Healthcare. About 117,000 were physicians, 53,000 were nurse practitioners, and nearly 23,000 were physician assistants. Read more.

Fierce Healthcare reports that patient demand for primary care and surgical care services remains below pre-pandemic levels, and patient visits “delayed” or “deferred” during the COVID-19 pandemic may be permanently lost, according to a new analysis. At the same time, the number of commercially insured patients decreases while healthcare costs continue to rise. In a 146-page report, Trilliant Health, a healthcare analytics company, outlines 13 macro trends influencing the healthcare industry including population migration, telehealth adoption, competition from new entrants, and healthcare costs. The company’s analysis is based on third-party data resources and the company’s proprietary all-payer claims database that informs longitudinal patient journeys for more than 300 million Americans. Read more.

Plaintiffs in an Affordable Care Act lawsuit are now asking a federal judge to toss all parts of the law requiring coverage of preventive health services. The filing raises the stakes in the closely watched case, Kelley v. Becerra. If U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor sides with the plaintiffs, millions of Americans could lose coverage for cancer screenings, behavioral counseling, and other recommendations made by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Read more.

The state of Pennsylvania is piloting digital mental health services in 30 districts for a year, working with the U.K.-based company Kooth to offer access to self-therapy, peer support, and professional support. Read more.

The Pennsylvania Senate Health and Human Services Committee passed a resolution to order a study of Medicaid reimbursement rates for addiction treatment services. The study, which would aim to determine if rates are keeping up with increased demand, would be conducted by the Joint State Government Commission in 2023. Read More.

 The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) released a new report that responds to increased interest in in-home and community-based care options. PACE serves over 60,000 Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 32 states.

 HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) released a new nursing workforce dashboard. Users can access data from the latest National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) through multiple visualizations that can be customized by nurse type, status, and area, all while experiencing native 508 compliance and accessibility in an intuitive, user-friendly dashboard.