Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC)
With an increasing demand for mental health services, more people are turning to their primary care physician to care for behavioral health treatment. However, since these are two distinct fields of healthcare, family physicians may not necessarily have the tools or time available to meet the demand of managing both physical and mental health.
According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, family physicians typically manage multiple symptoms and problems during the same short office visit. A primary care visits last an average of 13 minutes and include an average of six patient problems. In contrast, a visit to a psychiatric professional typically lasts at least 30 minutes and focuses on one clearly defined issue.
For a busy physician, detecting and managing mental health problems naturally competes with other priorities such as treating an acute physical condition, monitoring chronic illness, or providing preventive health services. Unlike a psychiatric professional, whose patients usually have severe symptoms that more easily confirm a diagnosis and the need for treatment, a family physician has to try and identify mental health problems that are frequently obscured by patient reluctance to acknowledge the problem or by physical symptoms that mask the underlying issue.
Increase Your Service Capacity with Telepsychiatry
Studies have shown that 70% of all healthcare visits have primarily a psychosocial basis. Given the challenge of meeting both physical and mental health care needs within an FQHC, collaboration with psychiatric professionals is key. FasPsych can provide access to psychiatrists, APRNs, and counselors who can provide ongoing virtual services to patients or serve as consultants to FQHC personnel.
Telemed providers who are available for care and consultation with your FQHC include:
- Adult Psychiatrists
- Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists
- Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
- Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists
- Licensed Professional Counselors
Supplementary Mental Health Services from FasPsych
Telepsychiatry results in reliable diagnoses and patient satisfaction. With our telepsychiatric providers, FasPsych can augment your behavioral health services so you can meet your patients’ needs. Our flexible service will:
- Help identify Medicaid and Medicare registration numbers and approval by additional carriers as necessary.
- Ensure your providers are fully and appropriately licensed for your state.
- Arrange for our prescribing providers to work within your electronic medical records and use your e-prescribing application.
We can help ensure your FQHC physicians are able to focus on their patients’ physical health by providing supplementary, virtual mental health care. Get in touch with us to learn more.