Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With Mental Health Professionals In Short Supply, Half Of U.S. Counties Have 'No Access' To Care
The demand for mental health service is growing nationally, and comprehensive mental health legislation is gaining momentum in Congress for the first time in years. But both forces could run up against a counter-force: a shortage of psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and therapists in much of the country. More than half of U.S. counties have no mental health professionals and so "don't have any access whatsoever," according to Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. (Sun, 10/21)
Telemedicine has been rapidly changing the way health care is delivered in the United States, giving doctors the ability to communicate with their patients through text and video messages from thousands of miles away in the event that an in-person consultation is either unnecessary or unattainable. (Braverman, 10/21)
The idea behind dental therapists 鈥 who fall between a hygienist and a dentist 鈥 is that these new mid-level providers would swell the ranks of people who can drill, fill and extract, making it easier for people to care for their teeth. That鈥檚 not how [Dr. Judith Fisch] and many dentists around the country see it. (Gorenstein, 10/21)
Many visitors bypass the shops and head straight for the pharmacies and dentists strategically located just a few steps from the border crossing. 鈥淓verything is at least 50 percent cheaper,鈥 Jim Reed, 74, said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so expensive back home and it鈥檚 good quality we can afford here.鈥 (D'Angelo, 10/21)