10,000+: The number of mental health apps circulating on app stores, according to a recent estimate by the American Psychiatric Assocation. While some are filling an important gap in access to mental health treatment, not all apps are equal. An ORCHA review of more than 500 mental health apps found nearly 70% didn't pass basic quality standards, such as having an adequate privacy policy or being able to meet a user's needs. That figure is higher for apps geared toward suicide prevention and addiction, some of the most vulnerable populations. A number of apps are incorporating AI to help diagnose and treat mental health conditions, but there’s limited regulation around this and limited clinical evidence to support its use so far. One company recently used ChatGPT as a “mental health counselor” without notifying users, prompting concerns.
Staffing Solution: CaroMont Health, a health system based in North Carolina, is addressing the nursing shortage by partnering with Gardner-Webb University to offer nursing students $7,500 in tuition assistance as well as the opportunity to complete required practicum hours at the hospital. In turn, the students agree to work as a registered nurse for CaroMont Health for two years.
House Mate: CareOregon is converting a local hotel into housing for its members and providers. The health plan, through its subsidiary Columbia Pacific COO, plans to turn the former hotel into 50-60 individual housing units by next spring, which members with behavioral health issues can then occupy. Two-thirds of the housing units will be reserved for healthcare workers, in part to help attract providers to the rural region.
Worth The Spend?: A medical practice in the northeast is spending $10,000 a month in hopes it can make $250K-$500K in shared savings under a new pay for performance contract for about 150 of its high-risk patients. “Investment in this value-based work is expensive, but it’s the right thing to do,” practice manager Margaret O’Neill said. Spending covers a better EMR, an ad-hoc on-call social worker for home check-ups, a scribe for office sessions to let the doctor focus on the patient, and a full-time care coordinator to keep track of where patients go for other appointments and help them navigate things like ability to get a cataract procedure after a heart surgery, or whether to eat a certain yogurt if living with heart disease and osteoporosis.
A Beautiful Mind: Blue Shield of CA members now have access to the platform CredibleMind where they can complete assessments on depression, anxiety, sleep, social connections, burnout, PTSD and other mental illnesses and be connected to resources and tools to address their specific needs. CareSource is working with BeMe, a digital behavioral health company, to provide teens enrolled in Indiana’s Hoosier Healthwise coverage access to digital mental health support, education, one-on-one coaching, as well as crisis support. BeMe’s platform serves over 90,000 teens across all 50 states.
End Of PHE, Then What?: Aetna is taking a proactive approach to the ending of the public health emergency and likely disenrollment for many Medicaid beneficiaries by using its CVS stores to put messaging over the sound system, show videos, and provide members with a QR code that connects them with info about what they can do next. The PHE ends April 1 when states can begin redetermining eligibility for Medicaid and disenroll beneficiaries as necessary. This will impact enrollment in Medicaid MCOs including Aetna, Centene, and others.
Postpartum Access: Seeking postpartum care such as a lactation consultation can be difficult for new mothers, especially when seeking options covered by insurance. In response, Zocdoc is partnering with Zaya Care, a company focused on establishing a network of maternity providers, to increase access to pregnancy and postpartum care specialists.
Precisely The Point: BCBS Michigan has launched a personalized medicine program in January this year through an independent company. The service from OneOme offers eligible members pharmacogenomic testing to help providers choose medication based on a member’s genetic makeup. The health plan’s 2022 pilot led to 432 specific medication recommendations for 396 members and early data suggests a reduction in outpatient and ER visits, along with lower spend among the members who received the testing.
Extra Point: So, I’m fairly certain that I’m addicted to cough drops as candy, listening to Broadway songs on a treadmill and eating six or seven of those Smartfood mini bags because, well, it doesn’t feel like quite as much when the bags are so little. Addiction is a global crisis – 100% of the population has one – but only 4 or 5 addictions seem to get the headlines. They deserve it – they are serious and tragic and need support - but I can think of at least 10 others in my own life that deserve some attention. Like my sister is addicted to bringing a couple pieces of Wonderbread to Thanksgiving, my neighbor is addicted to mowing the lawn in his boxers at 6am on Sundays, and my PCP is addicted to referring me to “ologists.” The hospital near us seems addicted to sending me flyers inviting me to their Lamaze classes, which is very thoughtful and assumes I have superpowers, and yet it’s awkward. My bride, God love her, is addicted to giving me chores that she knows I’m incapable of completing without her help. My youngest daughter is addicted to telling us she isn’t good enough, when she is – my goodness she is – and my mom and dad like telling the group chat at 8am that they got Wordle by, um, telling us the word. This girl Celeste on my school’s basketball team is addicted to staying late after practice because she wants to make the layup, and because going home means sounds of gunshots and no parents. Her addiction is her reality and also her hope. So many addictions are and yet we often think of addiction in such negative ways, as flaws, as disappointments, as invisible realities, and yet we’re learning every day that we can survive and recover and live with them. It just takes someone to care. My mom cares, like she seems to be addicted to sharing funny stories about family funerals. “So your Aunt Adeline’s funeral was nice, although the cannoli was soggy.” “Wait, what?” I said, “Aunt Adeline died?!”