The rise in telemedicine over the past several years hasn’t translated to more behavioral healthcare access in rural areas, according to a March 5 study in JAMA Network Open. Researchers from Boston-based Harvard Medical School and Providence, R.I.-based Brown University…
Behavioral Health Technology
As financial pressure intensifies across healthcare, ambulatory organizations are being forced to rethink how they operate. Rising labor costs, staffing shortages, reimbursement complexity and growing patient expectations have made efficiency no longer optional—but foundational to sustainability. In a recent Becker’s…
In West Virginia, 50 of 55 counties are federally designated mental health professional shortage areas, and some families must travel two to four hours for specialty behavioral healthcare — if it is available at all. Keri Law, MD, a child…
As behavioral health crises drive prolonged emergency department boarding and staff burnout, health systems are adopting targeted strategies to ease the burden and improve care transitions. From building dedicated billing teams to integrating technology into daily workflow, behavioral health leaders…
Behavioral health providers are facing a convergence of rising demand, workforce shortages and administrative burden that leaders say can no longer be addressed with incremental fixes. During a recent webinar hosted by Becker’s Behavioral Health, technology executives and a front-line…
When the CEO of behavioral health payer and managed care organization Magellan Health thinks about AI, its use falls into several buckets. But the verdict on whether AI could replace providers is unclear. Caroline Carney, MD, of Centene subsidiary Magellan…
Mobile, Ala.-based AltaPointe Health has launched a weekly online peer mental health support group to help veterans transition from military to civilian life. The group meets once a week via Zoom to provide a supportive environment for veterans who do…
In November 2025, Congress extended Medicare telehealth coverage flexibilities. However, some of those flexibilities — including relaxed in-person visit requirements for behavioral health — are scheduled to expire Jan. 30. According to a study from the Ann Arbor-based University of…
Nicholas Thomson, PhD, director of research for the Injury and Violence Prevention Program at Richmond, Va.-based VCU Health, expanded the virtual reality-based youth mental health program in the second half of 2025 through a partnership with T-Mobile. Dr. Thomson, also…
Nashville, Tenn.-based Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center improved satisfaction among pediatric behavioral patients with an individualized care planning tool. The tool, My Health Passport, was introduced in 2017 and is intended to help children communicate…
