CEO Ron Adler of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services:

Mid-level primary health-care providers are the first contact for people who need behavioral health treatment,” said institute CEO Ron Adler of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

These videoconference lectures and consultations let providers around the state ask behavioral health specialists about medication and treatment options.

The suicide rate for rural Alaska children is nine times the national average and social and behavioral medicine is crucial in this part of the country. The Alaska Native adult death rate from suicide is four times greater than the national average, and seven times greater from alcohol.

The sessions provide professional development opportunities, building providers’ confidence and proficiency with videoconferencing equipment.

The Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network began in 1998 as an Alaska Federal Health Care Partnership project to improve health care to federal beneficiaries in Alaska using telemedicine technology. The network has expanded to more than 300 sites in Alaska and elsewhere in the United States, as well as several international locations, including Panama, Greenland and Saudi Arabia.