Improving Access With A Remote PNP

At innovaTel, we focus our efforts on improving access to care for patients in need. We do this because we understand that improved access to care has the potential to improve outcomes. While the U.S. is still in the midst of a clinician shortage, with some areas of the country experiencing it in more profound ways than others, we’ve seen the difference that telebehavioral health can make.

By adding a remote clinician to a clinical team, a clinic or a mental health organization is essentially improving access to care for the patient population it serves by bringing in a new specialty or reducing the time it takes to secure an appointment. 

A practice in Delta Junction, Alaska is just one example.

Surrounded by natural beauty, Delta Junction is set apart from the conveniences and accessibility that the next closest larger cities — Fairbanks or Anchorage — enjoy. In fact, in all of Delta Junction, home to fewer than 1,000 people, there was no practicing psychiatrist. For Hats of Wisdom, a practice that specializes in therapy and counseling, that meant that any patient who needed medication would have to look elsewhere for support.

If those patients sought psychiatric treatment in one of those bigger cities, the wait for an appointment could take months. Some of the few psychiatrists that are practicing aren’t even accepting new patients.

“For two years before I contracted with innovatel, I was doing my research to find the best way to bring in a psychiatrist,” Josie Barry, LPC-S and executive director of Hats of Wisdom, said. “When I found out that there’s more psychiatric nurse practitioners around than psychiatrists these days, I was really excited that it was an option.”

Expanding A Clinical Team

By adding a psychiatric nurse practitioner (PNP) to her already remote clinical team, Barry introduced Delta Junction to its first clinician with the ability to prescribe medication. For many patients, that accessibility to that type of clinician could be a game changer. 

“We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback stating they’re so thankful that we’re now able to offer this to them. Now there’s more consistency for most of the individuals we work with that are using medication,” Barry said.

And for those who needed to add medication to their behavioral health regimen, but had otherwise avoided it because of the inconvenience or lack of availability, this new clinician offers a new path forward. 

“Because we now have someone on staff, even though he’s remote, patients have that option to start medication and have someone follow them more closely,” Barry said, mentioning how treatment would be less consistent in a larger city. “They’d be lucky to see someone every three months or once a year. They’re schedules are so full.” 

Integrating Into A Team

innovaTel clinician, like the one who is working with Hats of Wisdom, integrate into a clinical team as if they are on site. They carry full caseloads, attend meetings and consult with team members on individual cases. 

For Barry, that integration has been critical. It has meant more streamlined communication and it has reduced the probability that crucial patient information could fall through the cracks. 

“It’s a lot more seamless when you’re able to talk with the person prescribing,” Barry said. “You have that option to reach out and let them know how that person is doing.”

Read more about Hats of Wisdom and the difference a remote psychiatric nurse practitioner made for the practice and the community it serves by downloading the full success story here.

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