May is Mental Health Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and providers can make a significant impact by increasing awareness of mental health and celebrating recovery from mental Illness.

The primary goals of this month are to educate the public about mental health conditions, reduce stigma surrounding mental health, encourage screening and early intervention for mental health conditions, and promote access to treatment and support services. 

Key Opportunities for Providers

Providers can make a difference through fostering empathy, routinely screening patient for mental health concerns, and by promoting and encouraging patients to seek treatment and support. 

This can be achieved by normalizing conversations about mental health and providing accessible resources. The following tips may help patients feel more supported and open to discussing their mental health: 

• Reduce stigma: Stigma surrounding mental health often prevents individuals from seeking help.  Have open conversations about mental health with your patients.
• Understand the impact of bias: Implicit bias among providers can unintentionally affect diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient-physician communication. 
•  Promote culturally competent care: Cultural competency is essential for delivering effective mental healthcare to patients. This involves understanding cultural beliefs and practices through recognizing how cultural backgrounds influence patients' understanding of mental health and their preferences for treatment. Cultural competency training can help mitigate these biases and promote more equitable care.
• Promote trauma informed care: This works to acknowledge that health care organizations and care teams need to have a complete picture of a patient’s life situation, both past and present to provide effective person-centered health care services. 
• Provide resources to patients:  Ensure the following phone numbers available to all patients, by posting them in waiting rooms, exam rooms, and sharing them during conversations:
•         Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 (24/7/365). Provides immediate support via call, text, or online chat. Resources are also available for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals.
•         PA Support & Referral Helpline: 1-855-284-2494 (TTY: 724-631-5600)

Highmark Wholecare Support: We are committed to supporting the mental health needs of all members. Resources vary depending on the member's healthcare benefits:

Highmark Wholecare PA Medicare D-SNP members: 

• Highmark Wholecare covers some levels of treatment including inpatient, outpatient, and medication management. Levels of care that are not covered by Medicare D-SNP may be covered/ coordinated with the member’s BH-MCO (for PA).
•         Locate a treatment provider for Highmark Wholecare PA Medicare D-SNP members.  

Highmark Wholecare PA Medicaid members: 

• Medicaid recipients cancontact the enhanced member services unit at 1-800-392-1147 TDD/TTY 711. 
• Behavioral health benefits are managed by a Behavioral Health MCO (BH-MCO).    
• Find the BH-MCO for the county in which the individual resides.

For more information on screening for mental health disorders please visit our Highmark Wholecare Provider Guide on Depressive Disorders.