Overcoming barriers to digitally enabled mental health care integration

The number of patients who need access to mental health services is growing, but there is still a shortage of health professionals who can meet that demand.

Nearly 40% of American adults reported symptoms of depression and anxiety in 2021, far more than the 10% who reported those symptoms just three years earlier. And in 2020, 71% of parents told researchers they believed the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting their children’s mental health.

Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) will be essential in alleviating the nation’s mental health crisis, and incorporating digitally-enabled care into BHI can help clinicians reach more people who need care, experts from the AMA and Manatt Health said during a recent WADA Webinar.

They discussed the opportunities and limitations of using technology to support BHI, as well as solutions to help address areas that prevent more physicians from adopting BHI. The information is further explored in the organizations’ joint report, “Accelerating and Improving Integration of Behavioral Health Through Digitally Enabled Care: Opportunities and Challenges(PDF).

Leaders from three other organizations shared how they have implemented digitally enabled BHI across the country.

“All stakeholders across the board…really have to work together to make digitally enabled BHI a standard across the country,” Christopher Botts, senior manager of care delivery and payment at AMA, said during the seminar. Web. “There is also a general recognition that digital tools… [can] accelerate the adoption of BHI and help remove the barriers that have existed in recent years.”

During the webinar, Botts discussed the opportunities and limitations of using technology to support BHI.

Among the opportunities:

• Better management and treatment of the patient.
• Support for care integration.
• Limited fragmentation of attention.
• Value generated for patients and providers.

furthermore, the AMA Return Health Framework can help measure the value of BHI to your practice.

Among the limitations:

• The technology will not completely replace in-person interactions or patient assessments.
• There is as yet no strong clinical or economic evidence to support major coverage and regulatory decisions.
• The technology within BHI is not clinically appropriate or available to everyone.
• Patients, physicians, and healthcare professionals may not be able to use the technology effectively based on their personal preferences, in addition to potential gaps in digital literacy and/or broadband access.

jared augenstein, The director of Manatt Health, shared ways for various groups in the health care system to address the gaps that are hindering widespread adoption of BHI.

For example, medical practices and health systems can:

• Increase diagnosis and treatment rates by incorporating evidence-based digital solutions into standard workflows.
• Implement technologies that facilitate care coordination and enable highly collaborative care.

Health plans and coverage programs can:

• Expand coverage and fair payment with margin for all stakeholders using BHI models.
• Evaluate how and when to apply cost sharing for integrated services, whether delivered in person or via telehealth.
• Minimize or eliminate BHI’s utilization management practices.

Federal and state policymakers can:

• Work with health plans and coverage programs to limit utilization management review practices, enforce behavioral health parity laws, and strengthen network adequacy regulations.
• Increase federal funding with the goal of growing the behavioral health workforce, especially for those practicing in underserved areas.

Telehealth is critical to the future of healthcarewhich is why the AMA continues to lead the charge to aggressively expand telehealth policy, research, and resources to ensure sustainability of medical practice and fair payment.

Take a look at the BHI collaboration Behavioral Health Integration Compendiumwhich provides healthcare organizations with a proven pathway to delivering integrated behavioral health care and ensuring they have the latest actionable information at their fingertips.