Preventative health is key to detecting health problems and intervening at earlier stages before other problems arise or treatment becomes more difficult.
In this interview, we speak with Mary Lou Osborne – a leading advocate of preventative health measures. As President and Chief Commercial Officer at Ontrak Health, she shines a spotlight on the need for payers to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to mental health.
This includes a look at Ontrak Health’s own proactive approach, where the aim is to help payers identify members that are best suited for its preventative behavioral health program – a solution that seeks to serve those that require mental health care but aren’t yet receiving it.
“We begin the identification process by ingesting member data and conducting an analysis. We look for members that have chronic comorbidities and unaddressed, unmet behavioral health conditions. These are the individuals that are lost to care, falling through the cracks disengaged, not getting the treatment that they need,” Osborne explains.
Collaborative partnerships are key to this, with Osborne advocating for “behavioral health plan champions” that understand the complexities of the populations, and the navigation of health plan nuances, in addition to what is needed to improve outcomes and help people to live a healthier, happier life.
With all these key components and an effective behavioral health program in place, Osborne makes the point that avoidable emergency room utilization and avoidable inpatient utilization are reduced, easing pressures on an already overburdened healthcare industry.
“With over 50 million Americans suffering from mental health conditions in our country, and more than half of those are not receiving the treatment that they need, this really is a call to action for all of us in our industry. We really need to make mental health a very high priority,” Osborne adds.
Listen to the full conversation to find out more.
Hi there. I'm Rebecca Willumson. I'm the publisher of Fierce Healthcare, and I'm here today with Mary Lou Osborne, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Ontrak Health. Thank you so much for joining me.
Mary Lou Osborne:
Thank you so much for having me. So nice to meet you.
Rebecca Willumson:
So tell me, where do you see the greatest opportunity in working with payers?
Mary Lou Osborne:
The greatest opportunity is helping payers to be more proactive rather than reactive when it comes to mental health, what we can do at Ontrak is to help payers identify members that are best suited for our behavioral health program. And how we do this is we ingest member data and conduct an analysis. We look for members that have chronic comorbidities and unaddressed unmet behavioral health conditions. These are the individuals that are lost to care, falling through the cracks, disengaged, not getting the treatment that they need. So our program can help health plans, identify, do the outreach, do the coaching, and also provide a behavioral health network that is ready to serve those members for their care.
Rebecca Willumson:
So tell me, what do you need from a payer partner to really make that relationship work?
Mary Lou Osborne:
What we need the most is a behavioral health plan champion. Within the health plan, we need a behavioral health champion that understands the complexity of the populations and the navigation of health plan nuances, in addition to what is needed to improve outcomes and help people live a healthier, happier life. We also need someone who's empowered, who's invested and engaged, and can also rally others in the health plan to get behind behavioral health so that we're all striving towards the same goals, achieving the highest performance, and really improving health outcomes for members.
Rebecca Willumson:
So my final question, what's the single biggest game changer that Ontrak has to offer payers?
Mary Lou Osborne:
There is no doubt in my mind. The single biggest game changer is our WholeHealth+ program. Our program is proactive and preventative. It serves individuals that require mental health care and treatment but are not receiving it today. It produces a savings and a guaranteed ROI. We can reduce avoidable emergency room and inpatient utilization. We have a network of behavioral health providers that are ready to serve this population and can see members within a couple of weeks versus several months. We hear from health plans, that it takes a long time for members to schedule behavioral health provider visits. Because of our provider relationships, we can provide behavioral health treatment promptly, and our providers work hand in hand with our coaches through bi-directional communication. Clinical notes are shared so our coaches can coach members to and through care and be there for them as their advocate, as their quarterback, as they are meeting with their behavioral health provider. With over 50 million Americans suffering from mental health conditions in our country, and more than half of those are not receiving the treatment that they need, this really is a call to action for all of us in our industry. We really need to make mental health a very high priority. At Ontrak, our mission is to improve the health and save the lives of as many people as possible. That's the work that we do. That's the work that we're proud of, and we have some phenomenal outcomes for the health plans and members we serve.
Rebecca Willumson:
Well, that feels like the perfect place to wrap up. Thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate it.
Mary Lou Osborne:
Thanks so much for your time.