How You and Your Organization Can Benefit from Holistic Healthcare

Mental health is essential to a person’s overall health and well-being. While there’s no denying that physical health can help a person feel great, someone’s mind can affect their body just as drastically. For example, research shows that neglecting mental health can lead to serious physical health conditions, such as high blood pressure and heart disease.

Increasing access to behavioral health care can help diagnose and treat more patients and also help fight the stigma attached to having a mental health diagnosis. Introducing and expanding behavioral health services into your CHC, FQHC, hospital, or health system is an excellent first step towards eliminating stigma in your community and helping more people get the holistic care they need.

Keep reading to learn more about how you can educate your organization on mental healthcare and implement your first behavioral health program.

Educating your organization on mental healthcare

Whether your healthcare organization is planning to start your behavioral health program from scratch or considering expanding your services, your work can significantly impact the community. However, starting that process may feel overwhelming. Remember, a lot of the critical work around building a successful, patient-first behavioral health program starts with your care team.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when talking to your team about mental health care:

  1. Education: Effectively preparing your providers to support patients with mental health conditions is all about education. Your organization can educate your staff on different behavioral health conditions and common diagnoses they might encounter and empower them to have better conversations surrounding mental health.
  2. Person-first language: One important skill is to teach person-first language (for example, you would say a person diagnosed with schizophrenia, not a schizophrenic). It may seem like a minor change, but switching how you categorize or classify your patients can help them feel more empowered to have real, vulnerable conversations about their situation.
  3. Emotional impact: Your care team should recognize that treating people with mental health diagnoses can have a unique emotional impact on providers. Your organization should emphasize the importance of your providers not becoming desensitized to patients’ challenges. You can help your providers prevent burnout by opening up communication channels with them and implementing support systems at the organizational level. It’s essential for your organization to not become desensitized to patients challenges nor take them home with them at the end of the day.

Implementing your first behavioral health program

Once you’ve thought about bringing mental health care into your organization and believe it’s a good fit for your patient populations, now comes the process of implementing behavioral health services into your workflow.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you move forward:

  • Your patients will likely be discussing very personal and vulnerable topics when they come in for a behavioral health appointment. That means housing your behavioral health services in a space that allows them to feel comfortable opening up is essential. Your space should be physically and mentally safe for patients and have procedures in place in the event that a patient expresses an intent to harm themselves or others or becomes combative.
  • You’ll also need to be ready to make a change in how you schedule providers. Mental health care cannot run on a traditional medicine model in which a patient waits for half an hour to meet with a doctor for a short conversation. You should plan to schedule ample time for the important conversations between providers and their patients.
  • If your new program is your organization’s first experience with psychiatry, you’ll want to make sure you hire nurses, medical assistants, and doctors who have experience working in behavioral healthcare. By utilizing a solution like telepsychiatry, you’ll gain access to the best providers from all around the country.
  • Check out some of these resources to learn more about the benefits of behavioral health integration from an administrative point of view and directly from nurses in the field.

Integrating holistic care into your organization’s culture

For providers at the frontline of the country’s mental health crisis, it’s important that they feel empowered to seek help if they need it as well. Integrating holistic care into your organization also means ensuring your providers feel supported in their mental health. Often, as behavioral healthcare professionals, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that they’re not susceptible to mental health conditions in the way that others are, but that’s not true. Anyone and everyone can struggle with their mental health, and there’s no shame in reaching out for a helping hand.

Where Iris Telehealth fits in

One of the most challenging parts of starting a behavioral health program can be finding high-quality providers that seamlessly fit into your organization. That’s where telepsychiatry comes in. At Iris Telehealth, we connect organizations with high-quality, specialty providers from all over the country. Our large geographic pool allows us to connect organizations with the behavioral health support they need to help their community thrive. To learn more about how Iris Telehealth can help you implement a telepsychiatry program, contact us, and we’ll be happy to provide you with the information you need to get started.

Clinician Corner: Meet Dale McQueeney, MS, RN, PMHNP-BC

Iris clinicians are at the heart of what makes our organization such a special place to work. That’s why we’re turning the spotlight on the amazing work they’re doing every day. This month, we’re sitting down to talk with Dale McQueeney.

Q. How did you find Iris and decide you wanted to be an Iris provider?

A: I worked at a residential treatment center that had grown and changed a lot in the three years I was there. I loved my job, and it’s my passion to work with those who have substance use disorders, but I was getting a little burned out due to the hours. I always thought the only way I would leave my job would be to work in telehealth. I saw an ad for Iris, did a little research, reached out, and started the interview process. I learned a lot about Iris throughout the interviews, which were rigorous but fantastic. I was impressed with their commitment to finding the best providers and was honored when they wanted to hire me.

At the time, I ended up getting a promotion at the rehab center and decided to stay there. However, many months later, more shifts at the organization led me to decide I was finally ready to make a change. It was important to me to continue working with those with substance use disorders, and Iris was diligent about finding the right placement for me where I could continue doing that work. A really unique part of Iris’s approach is the job matching process. Iris holds a meet and greet with the Clinical Operations Manager, the provider, and the clinic. Everyone meets and discovers whether or not they’ll be a good fit. I couldn’t be happier with where they placed me.

Q. What does a typical day as an Iris Telehealth provider look like for you?

A: I live in rural Maine and work with a Community Mental Health Center in rural eastern Oregon. My primary focus is treating those with dual diagnoses and prescribing medication for addiction treatment (MAT), such as Suboxone (buprenorphine) and Vivitrol. I now serve as the Associate Medical Director for Substance Use Disorders at my clinic. My day is primarily filled with follow-up appointments and some new evaluations, usually for MAT. On Wednesdays, we have team meetings for the Crisis, SUD, Medical, and Adult teams.

Q. What do you love about being a telepsychiatry provider?

A: I love everything about being a telepsychiatry provider! We’re working to eliminate barriers to quality care, and it’s great that I can provide care from the other side of the country. In terms of my passion, I can reach those with opioid use disorders and potentially save lives with Suboxone or Buprenorphine. On a personal note, my commute is across the hallway in my house, much quicker than the hour and 15-minutes each way I used to drive. This lack of a commute allows me more time for “life.” I can relax and exercise in the morning instead of driving. In between patients, I can put in a load of laundry. The pace of life while working remotely is much slower and calmer, even on the busiest days.

Q. How do you foster connection with patients virtually?

A: The same way that I fostered connections with patients when I was seeing them in person — by getting to know them as people and asking about their lives, not just their medications. In my notes, I document the details so I can check in on what is going on with their families, pets, or events in their lives. Knowing about those details helps make for a richer connection, regardless of how far apart we are physically.

Q. As a healthcare professional, how do you manage work-life balance?

A: Work-life balance was the major reason I decided to start working for Iris. Maintaining a work-life balance makes me a better provider and more available to my patients when I am working. No one wants a burned-out provider. I’ve experienced burnout in the past, so I make sure to take time for family and self-care, including exercise. Even though it can sometimes be a temptation, I try hard not to check my email when I’m not at work. If it’s urgent, I know my Medical Assistant will contact me. Boundaries are so important, and Iris and the clinic I’m placed with really respect them.

Q. What are your biggest learnings from your time at Iris?

A: My biggest learning from my time with Iris is that working from home is not isolating. I decided to work remotely before the pandemic, and the week I started my new placement, all the employees at the organization went remote as well. During my transition to work from home, I never felt isolated – and that’s in large part due to the massive support from Iris. IT and my Clinical Operations Manager are always there for me if I need them. HR and payroll are very responsive. I’ve also developed close relationships with the staff at my clinic and have an incredible Medical Assistant. Even though I am an Iris employee, I really feel a part of the team at the clinic and am truly embedded there.

Q. What is the most rewarding part of your job?

A: The most rewarding part is seeing patients reduce use or achieve and maintain abstinence from substances. They literally change and save their own lives by doing so. Sometimes it’s sporadic, but I’ve seen some dramatic changes. Getting to be a small part of that is such a gift and incredibly rewarding.

Q. What do you love about working with Iris?

A: I love everything about working with Iris! Iris’s culture and values make it a really special place to work. The employees truly live the values, and everyone is so nice! From the very beginning, my Clinical Hiring Manager was so helpful and patient in answering all my questions. Then, there was real care taken to make a good match between my clinic and me, and my Clinical Operations Manager helped ensure that our connection was smooth and strong. The credentialing team was fantastic and helped me get licensed in Oregon. I just gave them my information and signature, and they made it happen! The support from IT, HR, and payroll is wonderful, and Iris’s Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer are excellent resources if needed. I couldn’t ask for better support!

Q. Why do you think telepsychiatry is important to the future of mental healthcare?

A: I think telepsychiatry is the future of mental health care because it improves access and reduces barriers. We were already heading in this direction, but the pandemic has increased acceptance and comfortability with this care delivery method. From my own experience, I know that patients really like it. I’ve worked both in-person and remotely, and I see no difference between these forms of delivery. I don’t treat my patients differently whether I am sitting in the same room with them or not, but because of the technology, I can be in rural Maine treating a patient in rural Oregon or wherever there’s a need. It’s amazing!

At Iris, we believe our providers should be respected, valued, and applauded for the work they do, and we couldn’t be more proud to say, “thank you” to our very own Dale McQueeney. If you’d like to learn more about working for Iris Telehealth, contact us today.

The Job Matching Process and What Providers Need To Know

While the job market for behavioral health providers is full of opportunities, finding the perfect fit can be challenging. That’s why working with an organization that delivers job matching services is invaluable for you and your patients. So, what is job matching?

The job matching process looks at what a provider wants in a job (think culture, values, schedule) and matches it with what an organization is looking for in a mental health professional (think specialty and experience). This match making process helps both parties attain what they want and need, increase provider satisfaction, and ensure quality of care for organizations and their patients.

How to determine the perfect fit

As a provider, knowing your non-negotiables can help you make the most of the job matching process and help determine what exactly you’re looking for in your next role.

Here are just a few things to consider when reflecting on your non-negotiables and wants as a provider:

  1. Flexibility: As a provider, greater flexibility with your time can help prevent burnout. Many providers want a better work-life balance so they can spend more time with their families and engage in self-care.
  2. Schedule: By knowing how many hours and what type of clinic you want, you can get the most out of your next career move. For example, some providers may only want to work 20-hours a week or may want to work in a particular type of clinic. An organization with your best interest in mind will work with you to find your perfect schedule and preferred work setting.
  3. Location and time zone: Some providers will prefer to work in a specific time zone depending on where they live. If you have strong preferences around when you want to work, a telehealth organization that helps match that preference might be the best fit for you.
  4. Patient population: By having an idea of what type of patient population you want to work with, you can get closer to your dream job. Do your patients speak another language? Do you want to work with children? Adults? Whatever your specialization, job matching ensures you’re set up to work with the population you love.

What the job matching process looks like

Having an idea of what the job matching process looks like can help you prepare for all the necessary steps throughout the experience. One thing to keep in mind during the process is what organizations are looking for in a new team member.

To narrow in on the right team member, organizations will review the provider’s experience, learn about their personality, see if they’re a good cultural fit, and check references. Additionally, organizations are interested in learning if the provider has experience with their patient population and a background in treating the common diagnoses they see at their organization.

At Iris Telehealth, we help ensure that both the organization and the provider get their needs met. To make those happily-ever-after matches possible, we take a thorough approach to the interview process. After the internal interview process, we also set up meet and greets between the provider and the organization to ensure cultural fit. During this time, the organization gets to know your practice philosophies, scheduling preferences, and other specifics you would like to discuss. If there’s a match, then next steps with placement and licensing begin.

The timeline for job matching varies depending on things like regulatory barriers. For example, in certain states, nurse practitioners might need more supervision than other types of behavioral health providers. Regardless of what regulatory barriers you encounter in the job matching process, working with an organization that helps with licensing and credentialing can help move things along smoothly.

Benefits of job matching

Providers, organizations, and patients can all benefit from a proper match. These benefits could include things like improved morale and less provider burnout. On the organizational side, a perfect match looks like better wait times, more patient engagement, and improved team satisfaction. For patients facing a national mental health crisis, having a happy provider who meets their specific needs is crucial.

Some benefits of working with Iris during your job matching process include:

  1. Assistance with licensing and credentialing: Wherever you are placed, Iris has you covered by handling the paperwork. We create an environment where you can focus on providing the best care possible while we take care of the forms and stressful documents.
  2. Ensuring everyone is on the same page: With a supportive supervisor, you have someone that checks in with you, ensuring you’re comfortable with your new organization and care team. At Iris, we’ve got your back and help ensure a safe and supportive practice environment for providers.
  3. Support through tricky situations: At Iris, we help ensure that your integration into the care team goes smoothly. We also help you navigate any tricky conversations that may arise.
  4. Clinical support: When you join our team, you get the support you need. Whether you need an advocate to answer questions or help from our top-notch IT team, there will always be someone here to guide you.

The Iris Match

At Iris, job matching is one of the most important parts of our mission. We are committed to helping our providers match with an organization that considers both the provider’s needs and the organization’s. Check out our behavioral health providers guide to help learn what job matching looks like in action and how it can set you up for long-term success at the organization of your dreams.

Contact us today if you’d like to learn more about Iris and our approach to forever matches.

Improving LGBTQIA+ Youth Mental Health Care and Access

In October, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry declared a mental health emergency for youth. Now more than ever, providers and organizations need to learn how to accommodate the mental health needs of LGBTQIA+ youth.

More than 80% of LGBTQIA+ youth reported that COVID-19 made their living situation more stressful.

For many LGBTQIA youth, access to mental health care is difficult due to:

  • Inadequate mental health care
  • Lack of access to mental health services and workers
  • Fear of discussing mental health concerns, their identity being misunderstood, or not being taken seriously
  • Concerns with obtaining parent/caregiver permission to receive care
  • Lack of available transportation options
  • Insufficient information about LGBTQIA+ mental health needs for providers.

Along with these barriers, there is also hesitancy to receive care exacerbated by a history of discrimination and lack of acceptance – which make it harder for LGBTQIA+ youth to receive the care and support they need. For example, as of 2022, 60% of LGBTQIA+ youth report they have wanted to receive mental health care but did not. This statistic represents nearly 3 in 5 transgender and non-binary youth as well as 3 in 5 cisgender youth.

Fortunately, there are steps your organization and your provider can take to ensure LGBTQIA+ youth can feel safe and heard.

Best practices for providing effective care to LGBTQIA+ youth

Here are some best practices for effectively supporting and communicating with your LGBTQIA patients:

  1. Be mindful of pronouns and names: You can limit the burden for LGBTQIA+ youth by asking directly about what pronouns they use and what their preferred name is. It’s important to correct your staff members if they incorrectly address the patient to foster inclusion and affirm the patient’s identity.
  2. Avoid assumptions: In addition to using the patients’ preferred pronouns and names, your care team should utilize inclusive language. By avoiding assumptions about a patient’s identity, it is easier for patients to reveal information at their own pace about their romantic or sexual relationships. Instead of assuming, ask questions like “Do you have a partner?”
  3. Honor patient confidentiality: Sometimes LGBTQIA+ youth don’t come from supportive households. It is essential to build rapport with your young patients and reiterate that your conversations during your appointments are confidential — unless they are thinking about harming themselves or someone else.
  4. Continue to educate yourself and your providers on LGBTQIA+ matters: Many resources are available for providers and organizations to learn more about LGBTQIA+ mental health care and youth. By paying attention to current issues and statistics around LGBTQIA+ youth, you can further change the type of care you provide by accommodating those needs.

Telehealth specific best practices for providing effective care to LGBTQIA+ youth

There are multiple ways to make your appointments with LGBTQIA+ youth inclusive and accommodating using telehealth.

  1. Take steps to ensure patient privacy above all else: Some patients might not feel comfortable speaking openly during their telehealth appointment if they don’t feel like they have adequate privacy in their home (or any other location where they might be receiving virtual care). By asking in the beginning if they are in a space that is private where they are willing to be open and honest with you, you can increase the quality of care. If they don’t have a space that’s safe and private, suggest other ways to communicate with your patient: taking a walk outside and continuing your telehealth appointment there, utilizing text for information that they are too worried to say out loud, or even come up with codewords or aliases for certain things and people to maintain privacy.
  2. Offer services in their area: Some patients might not have access to LGBTQIA-friendly providers or physicians. Offer to help them find one in their own area if they need to see an in-person provider for prescriptions, counseling and therapy, or HIV/AIDs management and treatment. LGBTQIA+ youth need to know they have options and access to care that is LGBTQIA-friendly.

How organizations help provide effective care to LGBTQIA+ youth

Creating a welcoming environment for LGBTQIA+ patients is essential. Many LGBTQIA+ people avoid seeking care as a result of bad experiences with providers or because they are discouraged by a lack of services that cater to the LGBTQIA+ community.

To combat that hesitation, make it clear that your organization is LGBTQIA+ friendly by clearly stating it on your websites and other branded materials. Normalizing and validating their experiences can increase the likelihood of seeking out care. Many LGBTQIA+ people look for clues whether an organization is LGBTQIA+ friendly by taking into account how they are greeted by staff and whether non-discrimination policies are posted on their websites or any other public-facing material.

Another way to make your practice more inclusive as an organization is by employing gender-inclusive medical forms. By giving your patients an opportunity to indicate their sex, gender, and sexuality, your organization can increase the quality of care your providers can deliver.

As an organization, make LGBTQIA+ specific training accessible to your providers and your care team. Sometimes, providers will have their own biases about gender and sexual orientation that they might bring to work without even realizing. Training providers on specific LGBTQIA+ topics and making sure they are asking for consent before providing care can erase discomfort in a healthcare setting.

Resources and education opportunities about LGBTQIA+ youth for providers

Many resources are available for providers and organizations to learn more about LGBTQIA+ mental health care for children and adolescents. By paying attention to current issues and statistics around LGBTQIA+ youth, you can further improve the care you provide by accommodating those needs. Here are a few resources that can help you provide quality care to LGBTQIA+ youth:

  • The Trevor Project: The Trevor Project is a national organization that specializes in suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQIA+ youth. They are constantly working to provide updated research and statistics on LGBTQIA+ youth and the challenges they’re facing. In the past, they’ve conducted a recurring National Survey on LGBTQIA+ mental health that gives context to the state of mental health in the U.S. for LGBTQIA+ youth.
  • The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a non-profit organization that focuses on topics related to youth and adolescent psychiatric care. Their gender and sexuality resource page has evidence-based guidelines for providers, including various tips to improve care with LGBTQIA+ youth during the pandemic, clinical guidelines and training for providers, and LGBTQIA+ specific topics frequently encountered while treating LGBTQIA+ youth.
  • The National LGBT Health Education Center: The National LGBT Health Education Center is part of The Fenway Institute. Their mission is to ensure access to quality and culturally competent mental health and medical care for the LGBTQIA+ community. They have a guide for providers on how to provide inclusive services for the LGBTQIA+ community. In addition, they have various continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education units (CEU) opportunities like webinars, learning modules, and training credits for providers looking to further their understanding of how to provide quality care for LGBTQIA+ communities.

How telehealth can help

LGBTQIA+ youth have many barriers at an individual level, provider level, and systemic level. By utilizing telepsychiatry, LGBTQIA+ can overcome some of these barriers.

Between 2.9 million to 3.8 million LGBTQIA+ people live in rural areas. Telehealth can make mental health care more accessible to LGBTQIA+ patients, especially in rural and underserved areas where there might not be access to non-discriminatory mental health care. By having the option of telehealth available, LGBTQIA+ youth can see their providers from the comfort of their own homes.

And remember, harassment in a medical setting is common –especially in areas where LGBTQIA+ populations face discrimination and larger barriers to access. For patients who’ve been a victim of harassment in the medical setting in the past, having providers who are trained to build rapport and provide comfort can dispel distrust that the LGBTQIA+ community has against some providers.

Where Iris fits in

At Iris Telehealth, we work hard to match providers with the populations they have the most experience and interest in, LGBTQIA+ included. It’s important to us that everyone has access to mental health services no matter where they live and what they identify as. Contact us today to implement an effective telepsychiatry program to help LGBTQIA+ youth at your organization.