Evidence has been mounting for years that treating behavioral health conditions has a positive impact on physical health, and now a recently updated study quantifies the physical health cost savings for individuals who receive outpatient mental health care. Unfortunately, adequate access to behavioral health treatment remains a huge hurdle.
Behavioral Health Treatment Reduces Physical Health Costs, Can Produce Positive ROI
Earlier studies have shown a strong relationship between individuals’ behavioral health issues and their health care costs.
Health care firm Evernorth Health Services last month updated its previous study, which found that, among other things, making sure individuals with newly diagnosed behavioral health conditions get treatment significantly reduces their physical health care costs and “at some levels of behavioral outpatient treatment, the savings offset the cost of behavioral care, resulting in a positive return on investment.”
According to the study of more than 200,000 individuals, on average those who received behavioral outpatient care when newly diagnosed with a behavioral health condition had reduced physical health care costs of up to $2,565 per person over the 15 months following a diagnosis and up to $3,321 per person over the 27 months following a diagnosis, when compared to those who did not receive behavioral health treatment.
Access to Care Remains a Huge Hurdle
In addition to helping individuals lead happier, healthier lives, the growing evidence of the overall cost-effectiveness of integrating behavioral and physical health care adds additional urgency to addressing the limited access to behavioral health treatment.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently estimated that more than 55% of adults with mental illnesses and nearly 35% of those with serious mental illnesses did not receive care.
As this article from OPEN MINDS details, the challenge of increasing demand for behavioral health services combined with a constrained supply of those qualified to provide care makes improving access a problem that defies easy answers. But continued increases in behavioral health funding at the federal and local levels combined with innovative solutions for delivering care offer hope for improvement.
Streamline’s SmartCare™ Behavioral Health EHR
Since 2003, Streamline has focused exclusively on the Behavioral Health and Human Services market. We understand that organizations in this market need more than just another Electronic Health Record (EHR) vendor. We are a trusted partner in building innovative technology solutions that empower people to improve the quality of life for those in need.
SmartCare™ is a true Enterprise EHR platform designed specifically for Behavioral Health and Human Services organizations. Its enterprise, cloud-based, single-platform, and intelligent technology empowers these organizations to improve effectiveness and quality of care. It manages all types of services across all levels of care—including primary care integration— in a single application, rather than trying to connect disparate systems. Its unified architecture, interface, processes, workflows, and reports enable truly integrated care management.
Request a demo today and learn how SmartCare™ can support your organization.
