The Walmart of Mental Health. Walmart launched its first line of behavioral health clinics in rural Georgia this year with plans to expand rapidly. The discount chain will focus on rural communities where access to care is low and lack of insurance is high, with low-cost, self-pay services. Currently it offers counseling at $45 per 45-minute session, but there are plans to weave psychiatric nurse practitioners into the model.

The clinics are part of a suite of services with primary care, dental, vision, hearing, and even veterinary care under one roof. They will compete with pharmacy chains like Walgreens and CVS that are expanding their walk-in clinics. While these steps will bring care where the need is high, Walmart also has a way of creating unintended consequences in its wake.

The first clinic sits 15 miles from Lithia Springs, the famed resort that treated all ills with lithium water in the early part of the last century.

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911 for Suicide Prevention. In December 2019, the FCC approved the creation of a national 3-digit phone number for suicidal crises: 988. The move puts suicide on par with other emergencies that are routed through 911 and brings needed attention to the troubling rise in suicide rates throughout the US. Dialing 988 will connect people to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, but not just yet—the number won’t be operational for another year or two. In the meantime, the Lifeline is available through 1-800-273-TALK.

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60-Second Psych. Our new podcast delivers brief research updates as they are released. Listen every Wednesday and Saturday; search for “Carlat” in your podcast store.