The FCC to Require Georouting for 988 Lifeline Calls, Improving Access to Local Services
New federal requirements for wireless carriers could help address the nation’s mental health crisis and improve local responses to suicide prevention and patient care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in an announcement Wednesday.
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency will vote to codify the rule at its October meeting. “Through our vote next month, the FCC wants to ensure that everyone can connect to these local resources,” she said.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Increasing suicide rates tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention enforce better communications to locate callers to 988, which the FCC established in 2020 as the three-digit area code for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Since the official launch of the 988 system in July 2022, trained responders at more than 200 contact centers across the country have responded to more than 10 million calls, texts and chats from people seeking help with suicidal thoughts and crises related to the mental health and substance use.
However, mobile calling has challenged their ability to connect callers to relevant local resources.
“Georouting means those responding to 988 calls have much more knowledge of local resources at their fingertips and are better equipped to get the caller the help they need, where they need it,” Rosenworcel said in a statement.
Note that georouting – not to be confused with geolocation – does not provide a precise location of the caller, allowing callers to maintain their location privacy.
“Connecting callers with local centers that can share information about their community’s services and resources improves the quality of care,” said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, HHS assistant secretary for mental health and substance use and leader of substance abuse and mental health services. Administration.
Once the new rules are established, all major U.S. wireless carriers will be required to georoute 988 Lifeline calls nationwide within 30 days of the effective date and for smaller, non-nationwide carriers within 24 months, HHS said.
THE BIG TREND
In 2021, the CDC said one person died by suicide every eleven minutes, but by 2023 that will 988 Lifeline helped millions of people with suicidal thoughts.
Telephone tools, but also telecare, help tackle the crisis.
In 2022, the Journal of Medical Internet Research published a study showing that telehealth also helped stop suicidal thoughts. According to researchers at Brightside Health, a virtual mental health platform, those in treatment were 4.3 times more likely to eliminate suicidal thoughts.
“We found that suicidal ideation had a higher correlation with cognitive symptoms of hopelessness and poor self-esteem than with the physical symptoms of depression, such as disturbed sleep and low energy,” said Mimi Winsberg, Brightside’s chief medical officer. Healthcare IT news.
Although traditionally not equipped to treat patients in crisis, virtual care has helped alleviate the rural mental health crisis exacerbated by a chronic shortage of providers. Dr. Bob Booth, chief medical officer at TimelyCare, a telehealth provider for students, said last year.
ON THE RECORD
“In times of crisis, every minute matters – especially if you are seeking help for yourself or a loved one in need of mental health care,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “There are real benefits to connecting to the resources available in your own backyard and talking to people within your own community.”
Andrea Fox is editor-in-chief of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.