Page 61 - BusinessWest November 9, 2020

Hospitals
Continued from page 22
sary spending. We are spending vast sums of money on a deliber- ately confusing and complex insur- ance system.
Trying to navigate the oner-
ous billing requirements, denied- claims management, pre-autho- rization requirements, and a host of other administrative hurdles unique to the U.S. healthcare sys- tem is wasteful and frustrating to hospitals, doctors, and patients alike. We spend more money administering the system than
we spend on care. This should alarm each and every one of us and prompt us to look a little more carefully at proposals for a single- payer system.
It is time to ignore private insur- ers who portray a single-payer system as the boogeyman, or the end of healthcare as we know it, and recognize their argument for what it really is: a reluctance to part with huge profits being made from a broken system at the expense of our health. u
Spiros Hatiras is president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center.
Behavioral
Continued from page 23
talk therapy to induce states of con- sciousness in which patients may find it easier to change well-worn patterns of thinking associated with psychi- atric illnesses such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
Lastly, on the biological front, advances in the understanding of genetic variability in metabolism and responsiveness of the nervous system to psychiatric medications promise to usher in an era of personalized medi- cine in psychiatry, allowing psychi- atric clinicians to select effective and tolerable medication treatments for patients without having to go through a trial-and-error process.
Even more important than advances in biological psychiatry is the need for progress in making psy- chiatric treatment more accessible to everyone who needs it. Currently, a majority of patients with mental ill- ness do not receive any treatment at all, and for many more, treatment is delayed. In fact, many patients with untreated mental illness, dispropor- tionately persons of color, end up in the criminal-justice system because of a lack of access to care.
In recent years, we have seen steady reduction in stigma surround- ing mental illness and increased acknowledgment of the importance of mental health across society. Bay-
state’s recently announced plan for the development of a new, state-of- the-art psychiatric hospital facility for our region reflects the growing recog- nition of the importance of improving access to behavioral healthcare.
This new facility is just one com- ponent of a comprehensive strategy which needs to be executed in part- nership with the whole community to improve access to all levels of mental healthcare and address persistent racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to care. Some of the compo- nents of this strategy includes work we have been doing at Baystate to embed mental-health services into our primary-care services. In addi- tion, our development of new training programs for psychiatrists and child and adolescent psychiatrists have established a pipeline for enhanc-
ing the psychiatric workforce in our region.
We also will see continued use and improvement in telehealth models of psychiatric practice, which, of course, have dramatically grown in response to the pandemic, and have proven to be an important tool in reducing geo- graphic barriers to access to care. u
Dr. Barry Sarvet chairs the Department of Psychiatry at Baystate Health.
Education
Continued from page 24
social determinants of health in the curriculum. These include socioeco- nomic status, education, neighbor- hood and physical environment, employment, and social-support net- works, as well as access to healthcare.
This charge became more evident with the pandemic, as we have seen its profound impact on underrepre- sented minorities. It would be a dis- service to future providers to ignore the current healthcare disparities in these populations. Addressing these determinants is not only important for improving overall health, but also for reducing health disparities that are often rooted in social and economic disadvantages.
Healthcare providers of the future will not necessarily be those who have a traditional classroom education, but will be those who know how to use, implement, and apply technology in healthcare systems and provide high- quality healthcare to all patients. u
Marie Meckel, MS, MPH, MMSc, PA-C; Kathleen Menard, MS, PA-C; Susan McDiarmid, MS, PA-C; and Theresa Riethle, MS, PA-C are physician assistant faculty members at Bay Path University.
Master of Public
Administration
New concentration in Public
Healthcare Administration!
• Full or part-time options available
• Hybrid and online courses offered throughout
• Classes offered during the fall, spring, and summer sessions
• Additional concentrations in Public Management, Non-profit Management, and Criminal Justice Administration
We also offer a 15-credit graduate certificate in Public Healthcare Administration responsive to local workforce needs.
For more information contact our Outreach Team at (413) 572-8020 or [email protected]
GoBackNow.com
BusinessWest
HEALTHCARE
NOVEMBER 9, 2020 25