Bridging the Gap Between Telehealth and Behavioral Health

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Improving the U.S. healthcare system requires the simultaneous pursuit of three ideals: improving the experience of care, improving the health of populations and reducing per capita costs of healthcare. “Value-based care” after all, does have its reasons behind the term. In keeping up with this new delivery model, it’s important to understand how behavioral health attributes to population health, its effects on the healthcare system and the nation’s bottom line. This is where technology can play a major role.

In a given year, nearly 44 million adults experience mental illness, with a quarter of them living with a substance use co-disorder. Increasing access to mental health professionals via technology is simply a smart solution as more and more individuals grapple with suicide, addiction, and other mental health issues. Unfortunately, the stigma often associated with mental illness is creating a barrier to treatment, but telehealth companies are realizing this enormous growth opportunity and are remaining at the forefront by providing a more convenient and less expensive medical consultation.

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Since counseling really only requires the ability for patients and providers to speak via video or phone, utilizing telehealth applications allows patients to receive treatment without judgement in the comfort of their own home. It creates a safe space for mental health dialogue, thus aiming to reduce hospital admissions and its associated costs. Therefore, behavioral health must embrace technology and its ability to bridge the gaps in care to the benefit of patients nationwide.

To expand upon the evolving increase in technological access to care, it’s important to note that less than 50% of Americans who are prescribed medications to treat mental health conditions take them as directed, if at all, according to industry reports. Marrying telehealth and efforts such as medication adherence programs can assist a patient’s road to recovery while reducing the $193.2 billion in lost earnings per year associated with serious mental illness in America.

Sources: Health Affairs; HealthcareDIVE; National Alliance on Mental Illness; Forbes

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com.

Grades Matter: State-by-State telemedicine performances and what they mean

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In the days of schooling that we all loved and miss dearly, report cards were used to denote “good” and “poor” students. Similarly, within the realm of U.S. telemedicine, standards to separate a “good” state for telemedicine and a “not-so-good” one have been put into motion. Earlier this month at its annual conference, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) released two key reports: a state-by-state analysis of coverage and reimbursement policies for telemedicine services and a second on physician practice standards and licensure in each state.

So who made the grade? In terms of coverage and reimbursement, five states (six including the District of Columbia) received an A based on 13 criteria. New Mexico, one of the lucky “A” states, received its grade for a few key reasons worth sharing:

• New Mexico has distinguished telehealth parity for private insurance, Medicaid and its state employee health plans.
• New Mexico is one of just five states to specify that its Medicaid program must cover telemedicine services provided by substance-abuse or addiction specialists.
• New Mexico Medicaid also covers telemental health delivered by licensed clinical social workers and counselors (as do several others). However, only New Mexico, Oklahoma and Washington do so for behavioral analysts. This trend, according to the ATA, “is unique because these specialists are critical for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders.”

And then there were those who didn’t make the class. The only two states to earn failing grades on coverage policies are small New England neighbors, Connecticut and Rhode Island. These two states each failed the three major categories–parity for private insurance, Medicaid and state employee health plans–mainly due to their lack of Medicaid telemedicine coverage (according to the ATA). Both Connecticut and Rhode Island allow telemedicine services without a telepresenter or other healthcare professional present with the patient and neither got extra points for innovative service-delivery models.

Catch up on your telemedicine news and see how all 50 states fared here with the ATA’s official telemedicine report card!

SOURCE: MedCity News

About DoseSpot 
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com.