BCBS Rhode Island teams with Women's Medical Collaborative to improve behavioral health access
The pilot incorporates an alternative payment model with an eye toward aligning provider payment to quality and cost efficiency.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island has announced a new pilot program intended to make it easier for members to receive behavioral healthcare through a collaboration between primary care providers and behavioral health practitioners.
The pilot incorporates an alternative payment model with an eye toward aligning provider payment to quality and cost efficiency. Lifespan's Women's Medicine Collaborative is the first healthcare provider in the state to participate in the pilot.
The pilot is centered on the idea of a collaborative care model, in which primary care and behavioral health providers are able to partner on shared care plans that encompass the same goals – namely, improving care access and patient outcomes.
According to BCBSRI VP of clinical integration Rena Sheehan, integrated behavioral health and primary care has been effective in improving not just the overall care experience, but health on the population level, as well as in reducing the per capita costs of healthcare and improving the work life of providers.
"This new pilot program allows us to better capture the population health management and care coordination components critical to successful integrated programs," she said.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
BCBSRI and Lifespan's Women's Medicine Collaborative launched the pilot in April. Participating PCPs receive clinical support from BCBSRI to better identify and manage patients with behavioral health conditions such as depression and anxiety, who are often treated in a primary care setting.
The two-year program will be measured by how it improves patient outcomes. Among its goals are real-time access to behavioral health treatment and care management at the time of a patient's screening.
Ultimately the organizations involved hope that it will prove to be a coordinated model that will provide the education and support patients need to make informed treatment decisions – thereby improving outcomes and patient engagement.
The program will measure warm handoffs – the transfer of care between the PCP and the behavioral health provider – for patients the PCP has identified as having a behavioral health need. This handoff is planned to be seamless for the patient and provides for an immediate conversation, whether virtual or in-person, with the behavioral health provider. The program will also measure whether patients take their antidepressant medications as prescribed.
THE LARGER TREND
The COVID-19 pandemic has ratcheted up demand for behavioral healthcare, particularly through telehealth, although data from health insurer Cigna found that there's been a general rise in the pursuit of mental health services, with a 27% increase in behavioral health outpatient care compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The one potentially problematic finding related to this increased usage is a sustained increase in the use of prescription medications for depression and anxiety, with a 7.9% increase in the use of antidepressant medications in 2020 vs. 2019. In addition, more than 32% of those taking antidepressants in 2020 had no history of use six months prior to their first prescription fill date.
Overall, though, Cigna's data found that virtual behavioral health services are making a positive impact in the workplace. Almost half of behavioral telehealth users reported higher productivity at work, and many reported taking fewer sick days.
A recent study showed that mental health services accounted for the most common use of telehealth during the early days of the pandemic. In the midst of skyrocketing depression rates, the findings show that more patients used telehealth for behavioral rather than physical conditions.
This shift to telehealth, particularly video, was enabled by time-limited, regulatory changes related to reimbursement, privacy standards for telehealth technology, and licensure. Lessons from utilization during this period can inform policy for the post-COVID-19 era.
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
