Many docs and nurses admit lack of readiness to address mental health and substance use with patients

As many as 65 million people in the U.S. will go through mental health and/or addiction disorder in their lifetime, which increases risk of disease, death, and healthcare spending. This is according to research cited in a new survey analysis from Kognito that focused on learning how prepared healthcare professionals are for screening patients and addressing such conditions.

The report notes that as substance use and mental healthcare becomes the norm during routine medical care, researchers sought to find out if clinicians are competent in delivering a set of clinical strategies for substance use and mental health, how likely they would be to carry out the activities with patients during standard care, and the actual number of patients they do engage and refer to appropriate treatment and services.

Between August 2015 and September 2018, Kognito surveyed 676 healthcare professionals from over 50 organizations and found some considerable gaps in their readiness to provide screening and brief intervention (SBI) with patients. Results showed some 57 percent admitted to not feeling adequately prepared to screen their patients for substance abuse and mental health disorders, nor did they feel prepared to provide information about the impact such disorders could have on their patient’s health and well-being. More specifically, 64 percent said they aren’t prepared to use “motivational interviewing” to encourage patients to want to change and seek help; and 62 percent said they are not equipped to collaborate with patients to develop an action plan.

However, a majority of survey respondents (84 percent) still said they would be likely or very likely to intervene, despite not feeling adequately trained or equipped to do so. Healthcare professionals do have access to a number of evidence-based screening tools they can share with patients in person during conversation, electronically, or paper questionnaire, which could glean important information needed to identify problems, their severity, and take action if necessary. So why aren’t more doctors and nurses practicing using them?

“Implementing SBI may raise concerns about added time in patient visits, reimbursability of services, and initial cost of implementation,” the authors wrote. “Yet the recent movement toward value-based care, parity legislation, and the high prevalence of opioid use and mortality have brought renewed impetus to arm all healthcare professionals with the skills to address patients’ behavioral health in primary and acute care, community health centers, pharmacies, and other settings.”