NEHI hosted two discussions on this topic, one that guided the final recommendations report and another to recap our findings.

Our first session, an exclusive, members-only roundtable on September 20, 2023, provided invaluable insights shaping our conclusive report, which is available here. NEHI members can access the recorded roundtable discussions.

Then, on December 11, 2023, NEHI hosted a final webinar, in which we summarized the report's findings and recommendations. The recorded webinar is open to all.

One of the expert contributors from our project, Kathy Wibberly, Director of the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center, referenced our work in her January 2024 Frontiers perspective entitled, “Preparing mental health providers for the future: the case for moving beyond the elective telehealth course to integrating telehealth training throughout the curriculum.”

💻Webinar - December 2023

The use of telemental health (TMH) – delivery of behavioral and mental health services via synchronous or asynchronous technology – rapidly increased in recent years. While clinicians responded by shifting more care to virtual platforms, the literature and subject matter experts we spoke with for our recent report indicated that many lagged in their pursuit of training to facilitate the transition to TMH.

Agenda Highlights

Overview & Recommendations: Explore the recent findings and recommendations from our final report.

Panel 1: Training, Certification, and Continuing Education Opportunities for TMH Clinicians: Learn about new paths for clinicians to continue developing competencies and upskilling with experts from the Telehealth Certification Institute, University of Washington School of Medicine, and Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center.

Panel 2: Innovative Approaches to Supporting TMH Clinicians in their Practice: Discover emerging approaches to support TMH clinicians in their practice, exploring innovation, challenges, and the evolving role of technology with experts from Massachusetts General Hospital and Eleanor Health.

📝 Roundtable - September 2023

On September 20, 2023, NEHI convened experts from payers, providers, health technology, and major academic organizations to discuss how to ensure telemental health (TMH) clinicians are being trained on evidence-based practices that have been shown to produce high-quality patient outcomes.

Claire Cruse, Senior Director of Program Development, moderated the discussion between these experts, covering a variety of topics. The panel first discussed progress in standards setting for clinical training in TMH, including a discussion of the development and dissemination of TMH competency frameworks and curricula to support them. Experts discussed these frameworks and the work that is needed to get them into the hands of more clinicians.

After that, the panel discussed clinician, provider, and payer perspectives on clinical training for TMH. Perspectives included in this discussion ranged from those of independent clinicians and large hospital systems to payers, mental health startups, and certification organizations. Participants discussed potential ways to encourage clinicians to seek additional training, skills needed to assess new interventions and technologies, and ways to give clinicians more opportunities to learn best or emerging practices from their peers.