Last week, NeuroFlow gathered over 50 healthcare leaders from health systems, plans, and government organizations for the second annual NeuroFlow Summit. We hosted the intimate, two-day event in our offices to provide insight into forward-looking healthcare trends, showcase the company’s product roadmap, and most importantly, build meaningful connections among industry leaders to facilitate more effective collaboration. We hope that this event will further the mission of identifying behavioral health needs early, improving care coordination, and driving positive health outcomes in a sustainable way.
Our speakers discussed growing collaboration among health plans and health systems as pressure mounts to improve quality and effectiveness of care delivery, and new policies fast-track behavioral health integration. In smaller break-out sessions, attendees discussed the unique challenges impacting their organizations and explored new capabilities NeuroFlow has developed to help tackle these issues, from data sharing to content management and enhanced analytics. Read on for some of the top takeaways from this year’s NeuroFlow Summit.
#1 Healthcare Is Converging in More Ways Than One
One of the most prominent themes of the summit was convergence. The ways in which organizations provide and pay for care is converging as health systems and employers take on more risk in managing population health. Healthcare itself is converging, as integrated behavioral health becomes more prevalent in physical care settings and more types of organizations seek to bridge the gap between mental and physical health.
In a panel on this topic, speakers from Independence Blue Cross, The Wharton School of Business, and healthcare consulting firm BCollaborative discussed how health plans and systems are collaborating to evaluate behavioral health programs and more effectively utilize their resources to improve health outcomes. Not only are these organizations incentivized financially to share risk, but they are also collaborating to create a more unified healthcare experience.
Left to right: Dr. Robert Burns, Health Care Management Program Chair, The Wharton School; Michael Vennera, EVP & Chief Strategy, Corporate Development, and Information Officer, IBX; Lili Brillstein, CEO, BCollaborative; Lindsey Watson, Managing Director of Portfolio Impact, SEMCAP
Michael Vennera, EVP and Chief Strategy, Corporate Development, and Information Officer at Independence Blue Cross, emphasized the importance of health plans breaking down silos between physical and behavioral health to drive better outcomes. “We’ve worked with a lot of our provider networks to roll out capabilities to connect primary care practices to our broader behavioral health network. We’re using technology to connect these practices to behavioral health resources we have in our network,” said Vennera. “We’ve seen some successes. If we can get someone who isn’t in behavioral health care today identified and in care, we see their behavioral health expenses go up, but their physical health expenses experience an even larger decrease.”
Due to new fiduciary responsibilities, as outlined in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, self-insured employers are also taking on greater risk in managing employees’ health. They must demonstrate that they are providing appropriate health access to their employees, and due to parity laws, that includes adequate behavioral health access. This massive transformation is prompting employers to work more collaboratively with both health systems and plans to access critical health data.
Jeffrey Hogan, President, Upside Health Advisors
“During the health tech boom, we’ve seen employers trying to solve their behavioral health problems with digital health solutions, tacking them onto their plan and hoping they work,” said Jeffrey Hogan, president of consulting firm Upside Health Advisors, during a session on the new role of employers in healthcare. “None of these things work unless employers are getting the data they need to have accountability and see the impact of these programs.” This is creating opportunities for both health systems and health plans to collaborate more closely with employers, provide relevant data, and take on some of this risk, added Hogan.
#2 Quality Data Underpins Quality Healthcare
To improve care quality, healthcare leaders need the right data. This theme took center stage during several sessions, including NeuroFlow’s product roadmap, which highlighted our increased investments in data collection, peer benchmarking, and data sharing. Several sessions emphasized that the right data unlocks better care. Improving care quality isn’t about adding more behavioral health access, but measuring existing programs and understanding what’s driving positive health outcomes.
This message hit home during a session on healthcare policy with Meadows Mental Health Institute Chief Policy Officer John Snook. He said, “If you aren’t doing effective data management and data analysis, you are in trouble. I don’t see how you meet parity requirements and reporting requirements for the federal government. There is too much of a premium on effective coordination on this data and being able to justify business decisions.”
Left to right: John Snook, Chief Policy Officer, Meadows Mental Health Policity Institute; Matt Miclette, VP of Clinical Operations, NeuroFlow
This theme also manifested in a real-life case study with Aurora Mental Health & Recovery and health plan Colorado Access during the second day of the Summit. Colorado Access was looking for a better way to collect behavioral health measures to demonstrate positive outcomes and better utilize capitation dollars from Medicaid. At the same time, Aurora Mental Health & Recovery – a safety net clinic that is part of Colorado Access’s network – began using Owl, NeuroFlow’s measurement-based care solution. The technology leverages remote, digital screening to collect patient data and track behavioral health over time so that providers can adjust care accordingly. By comparing this data with its claims data, Colorado Access found that tech-enabled measurement-based care helped lower total cost of care by 28% PMPM by lowering emergency department utilization and hospitalizations.
“Clients that are engaged with Owl will reach remission 56% faster than those who aren’t,” explained Kathie Snell, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at Aurora Mental Health & Recovery. “This allows our providers to say, ‘Hey, you’re going to be okay,’ but this also opens capacity for others that need it.”
Left to right: Kathie Snell, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer, Aurora Mental Health & Recovery; Rob Bremer, CEO, Bremer Consulting; Julia Kastner, Chief Product Officer, NeuroFlow
#3 Data & AI Are Reshaping Suicide Prevention
Suicide prevention is a huge area of focus for NeuroFlow and our partners, and continues to be an area where the company is investing in innovation, incorporating Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology and robust risk modelling. VP of Clinical Operations Matt Miclette shared how AI technology is advancing this mission at NeuroFlow in a session alongside Magellan Health Chief Medical Officer & President of Behavioral Health Dr. Caroline Carney.
“We used to think suicide was on a continuum – you get depressed, more depressed, and then you start thinking about suicide,” said Miclette, describing insights from recent research on leveraging real-time data in addition to clinical assessments to identify suicide risk. “It’s actually a lot more in the moment and spontaneous when suicidal ideation can arise. That’s why we need more real-time ways to pick up on these sudden changes.”
Dr. Carney emphasized the importance of gathering the right data at the right time to deliver effective interventions. She explained that technology is critical for gathering and analyzing data to understand risk. “There is very basic data – for example, that a man is 75 years old and therefore in a higher risk group for suicide. But if I can also see that he is a widower, has a serious medical condition, lives in a rural area, and has access to means, suddenly that risk is sky-high, and I should intervene,” said Dr. Carney. “Data means everything, but data sitting in a pool somewhere means absolutely nothing.” Gathering data and sharing those insights with providers and care managers can make all the difference in saving a life, added Dr. Carney.
Dr. Caroline Carney, President of Behavioral Health and Chief Medical Officer, Magellan Health
Using tools to make behavioral health data actionable has helped Magellan move upstream and prevent costly utilization among its members. “We’ve seen marked reduction in readmission,” explained Dr. Carney. “The latest average rate of readmission for those not using NeuroFlow is 11%. Those using NeuroFlow are at a little over 5%. That’s a huge savings when thinking about the entire population.”
We’ll See You Next Year
Thank you to all our attendees and partners for making the second annual NeuroFlow Summit a huge success. We’re honored to bring together innovative leaders and tackle the most pressing issues facing our industry. As NeuroFlow CEO Chris Molaro said in his welcome address, “Ultimately, we want to achieve zero gaps in behavioral health care and zero suicides. The goal of the NeuroFlow Summit is to come together in this shared mission.” We hope that hosting this summit advances these aims and transforms healthcare for the better. If you’d like to join this community and stay up to date on the latest behavioral health news and innovations, follow us on LinkedIn. Or, if you’d like to learn how NeuroFlow can support your organization, schedule a meeting with us.
