Telehealth for Pediatric Mental Patients

HRSA https://www.hrsa.gov within HHS released a grant notice on January 8, 2019 seeking applications for the “Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program”. The program is looking for ways to promote integrating behavioral health into pediatric primary care by using telehealth to enhance the process.

The plan is for state or regional networks of pediatric mental health care teams to provide tele-consultation, training, technical assistance, and care coordination to help pediatric primary care providers diagnose, treat, and refer children to behavioral health providers. Permitted telehealth modalities between providers includes the use of videos, telephonic communications, store and forward of images, and mobile health applications.

The funding to support the pediatric mental health care telehealth access program may be used to:

  • Establish and support statewide or regional network consisting of pediatric mental healthcare teams to support pediatric primary care sites
  • Conduct an assessment of critical behavioral consultation needs among pediatric providers and their preferred mechanisms for receiving consultations, training, and technical assistance
  • Develop an online database and communication mechanism including telehealth to facilitate consultation support given to pediatric primary care practices
  • Provide rapid statewide or regional clinical telephone or telehealth consultations when requested between the pediatric mental healthcare teams and pediatric primary care providers
  • Conduct training and provide technical assistance to pediatric primary care providers to support the early identification, diagnosis, treatment, and referral of children with behavioral health conditions
  • Assist pediatric providers in accessing, pediatric mental healthcare providers,
  • Provide referrals to specialty care and community or behavioral health resources
  • Measure and monitor the increased access to pediatric mental healthcare services by pediatric primary care providers

 

The next step is to describe how the project will help develop new or improve existing statewide or regional pediatric mental healthcare telehealth access programs. Also, describe how the project will provide training and education on the use of evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate telehealth protocols to treat children and adolescents with behavioral disorders.

This program will serve as a resource for pediatric primary care providers serving children and adolescents but is not limited to pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and care coordinators.

Applicants must be states, political subdivisions of states, and Indian tribes and tribal organizations. The closing data for applications in March 11, 2019 with estimated total program funding to be $1,335,000.

Go to https://www.grants.gov/custom/printSynopsisDetails.jsp to view the Funding Opportunity Notice titled “Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program”.