As NCDHHS continues its work to support the mental health of its young people, DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley spoke at a celebration of the fifth anniversary of the North Carolina Psychiatry Access Line (NC-PAL).
NC-PAL is a free resource that allows primary care doctors to consult with on-call psychiatrists who provide their expert advice in diagnosing pediatric patients and answering questions about their medication management. It provides primary care providers with consultations for patients from birth to 21 years old, pregnant women, and patients who have recently given birth.
Psychiatrists, physicians and professionals at the heart of NC-PAL attended the celebration, held on the afternoon of Sept. 20 at Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham.
“NC-PAL stands as a beacon of hope, bridging gaps in knowledge, resources and access to care,” Kinsley said. “It’s a lifeline for children, caregivers and health care providers.”
Behavioral health and resilience lie at the core of NCDHHS’ top priorities, and NC-PAL serves a vital role in supporting the state’s young people, many of whom are contending with mental health struggles.
In 2019, suicide became the leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14. Today, one in five high school students has contemplated suicide. Pediatric depression and anxiety diagnoses have increased by 50 percent since 2016, and the fact that more than 60 counties in North Carolina don’t have a child psychiatrist means that the state’s emergency rooms often house children for days to weeks due to a shortage of community-based treatment options.
NC-PAL is a collaboration between Duke’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and NCDHHS. It’s a vital support to North Carolina’s primary care providers, many of whom have expressed feeling insufficiently trained in pediatric behavioral health.
“It truly is about education,” said NC-PAL Director, Dr. Gary Maslow, of Duke University. “NC PAL equips providers to recognize warning signs and to provide management in severe situations. The providers are trained to connect patients with the services they need and to provide medications to manage symptoms.”
NC-PAL encompasses multiple initiatives related to collaborative care, children in foster care, early childhood mental health, perinatal mental health, school behavioral health and practice transformation for children and youth with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
If the provider’s question is related to behavioral health, the NC-PAL consultants provide those answers and connect the providers to a child and adolescent psychiatrist if necessary. Should the question relate to diagnostic clarification or medication management, the NC-PAL psychiatrists are on standby to provide guidance.
NC-PAL also helps connect providers with information on community resources, government programs and additional resources, including web-based mental health guides. Specific areas of expertise include behavioral health, autism spectrum disorders, as well as intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The NC-PAL team is composed of behavioral health consultants, psychiatrists, mental health specialists and program support staff. In addition to the telephone consultation line, NC-PAL also serves an education function for medical providers through its ongoing training opportunities.
NC-PAL does not bill healthcare providers or their patients for consultations. Healthcare providers can speak to a Behavioral Health Consultant by calling (919) 681-2909 Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.