Telepsychiatry Services in Nevada

A lack of timely access to care is an issue that affects individuals across the country, varying in degree depending on a variety of factors such as insurance coverage, rural geography, number of available clinicians, state funding, and more. A state that is experiencing a significant lack of access to care and a shortage of mental health care professionals is Nevada. According to Mental Health America, Nevada is in great need of better access to care, ranking last for access to care, and prevalence of mental illness. To address this issue, swift and effective action must be taken and at innovaTel, we believe that telepsychiatry is the answer. Telepsychiatry breaks down the barriers that create long wait times leaving patients untreated. Nevada care centers can be part of the solution by establishing a telepsychiatry program at their facility with the help of the experts at innovaTel.

Mental Health Statistics for Nevada

Despite slow incremental change over the last several years, Nevada continues to find itself in an unfortunate situation of high rates of mental illness and low rates of access to care. According to Mental Health America, Nevada ranks 51 overall in access to care and the prevalence of mental illness. This ranking is based on 15 different measures including data on adults, children, and behavioral health workforce availability. An overall ranking 1-13 indicates a lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of access to care. Rankings 39-51 indicate a higher overall prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care.

A standout measure was that Nevada had the highest percentage of youth coping with severe major depression at 12.7% percent where the national average was 8.7 percent.

Nevada Telepsychiatry Laws & Regulations

Navigating state laws and regulations can be difficult when looking into adopting a telepsychiatry program, which is why we recommend finding a partner to make this an easier process. Each state is different, so to better understand what is permitted in your state a resource we recommend is the Center for Connected Health Policy’s website.

Nevada Medicaid

Per Nevada Medicaid law, telehealth may be used by any Nevada Medicaid enrolled provider working within their scope of practice. More specific to behavioral health, clinicians determined by a state mental health agency to meet established class specification qualifications of a mental health counselor, clinical social worker, or psychological assistant may bill and receive reimbursement for psychotherapy when using a HIPAA-compliant system.

Private Payer & Parity Laws

Parity law in Nevada states that every health care policy issued must include coverage for services provided through telehealth. Services should be covered to the same extent as they would be covered if provided in-person.

Benefits of Telepsychiatry

For community mental health centers in need of additional clinicians, telepsychiatry is an easier and quicker way to grow your clinical team to meet patient demand. By using telepsychiatry, mental health centers are able to bring new clinicians on quickly, while maintaining a high standard of care with minimal disruption.

Shorter Wait Times

One of the most beneficial aspects of telepsychiatry is the ability to remove the barrier of distance. If there is a lack of clinicians in a single geographic area, patients do not have to wait until a local clinician is available. For example, in the southern regions of Nevada, only 24% of people eligible and in need of assistance are receiving care due to a lack of clinicians in that area. Telepsychiatry brings more available clinicians back into the workforce, regardless of location, allowing more patients to receive treatment.

Reaching Specialized Clinicians

Referring back to Nevada’s ranking in Mental Health America’s Ranking the States report, Nevada had the highest prevalence of mental illness and lowest access to care among Youth. With so many children and adolescents suffering from mental illness in one state, there’s bound to be a shortage of clinicians with the sub-specialty training that may be necessary in certain complex cases when treating that age group. With telepsychiatry, organizations have the ability to bring in a clinician that specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents in a timely manner.

Implementing Telepsychiatry in Nevada

Growing your treatment team is easier when you partner with an experienced telepsychiatry company like innovaTel. innovaTel partners with community mental health centers to increase access to care in states just like Nevada. innovaTel helps mental health centers grow their clinical team with remote clinicians; handling all recruitment and only presenting your team with qualified clinicians to choose from. This partnership will help your organization navigate state laws, licensing, and compliance; making the implementation process easy and efficient for your organization

Nevada Telepsychiatry Services from innovaTel

If your organization is in need of additional clinicians, we encourage you to contact us today to learn more about how partnering with innovaTel is the solution. We are committed to increasing access to care in Nevada and communities across the country. Our nationwide network of clinicians includes psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and licensed clinical social workers with the mission to improve timely access to care by partnering with community mental health centers.

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