Robert Bosch Healthcare Systems Inc.

A Wall Street Journal story looks at the shortage of U.S. mental-health providers, which is becoming ”more acute as people are encouraged to seek treatment, or find they are able to afford it for the first time as a result of new federal requirements that guarantee mental-health coverage in insurance plans.”

“That’s prompting a sea change in attitudes among mental-health advocates, who are starting to look at solutions that are broader than just training more psychiatrists.”

Among the strategies:

“{W}orking more closely with nurse practitioners and physician assistants, after a long history of protectiveness over its members’ powers. ”

And:

”California health centers are also gaining acclaim for their efforts to merge primary-care and behavioral-health services under one roof, which often ensures that many aspects of mental health can be addressed by providers other than psychiatrists.”

And help from techn0logy, such as:

”Robert Bosch Healthcare Systems Inc. says it has developed a device that providers can use to monitor patients with bipolar disorder and major depression, to make sure they are managing their illness through medication and behavioral therapy.”