Like many in the U.S., Ohioans are experiencing a historic shortage of behavioral health resources, but Alera Health’s population health management tools will help Ohio’s network of behavioral health providers better integrate mental health care.
Meanwhile, Miami University has donated $1 million to the Ohio Population Health Alliance’s Southern Ohio Behavioral Health Corridor to support future behavioral health workers in rural areas of the state.
Why it matters
In 2020, the Appalachian Regional Commission stated in its “Creating a Culture of Health in Appalachia: Disparities and Silver Linings” report that the supply of mental health providers per 100,000 people in Appalachian Ohio is 51% lower than the national average and 41% lower than the non-Appalachian Ohio average.
Additionally, among its key findings, the report noted that the suicide rate among the poor was 19 percent higher than the national average and 26 percent higher than the suicide rate in Ohio outside of Appalachia at the time.
Since then, efforts have been made to improve care for people diagnosed with primary or secondary behavioral health conditions and to increase the behavioral health workforce.
OBHPN announced a new partnership with Alera on Monday to create a clinically integrated network to expand access to care, improve health outcomes and reduce costs, according to a release from the population health management company.
OBHPN integrates behavioral health and primary care services provided by more than 25 hospitals, certified community behavioral health centers, federally qualified health centers and social service services, and is dedicated to serving more than 225,000 Ohioans in Ohio’s 66 counties.
According to Arella, the organization’s service providers serve more than half of the state’s residents with severe and chronic mental illnesses, as well as serving as a safety net for those suffering from co-occurring behavioral health and medical conditions.
The company said its new digital infrastructure, including data analytics and other care coordination resources, will help OBHPN providers serve patient populations with complex behavioral, medical and social needs that have long been underserved.
According to Alera, the autonomously operating ONEcare network will have access to clinical and operational process improvements and remote patient engagement tools that will power value-based care contracts that recognize and incentivize improved access to care, patient advocacy and satisfaction, preventive care and avoidance of unnecessary medical costs.
“OBHPN is ready to take another step toward a future where patients with behavioral health issues can expect to be treated with care and respect, and where behavioral health providers are recognized for the invaluable role they play in delivering holistic, integrated care,” Eric Morse, the center’s CEO and chair of the OBHPN board of directors, said in a statement.
“OBHPN believes partnering with Alera Health will provide the experienced contracting, data and care coordination support we need to take the next step.”
Meanwhile, Ohio University announced last month that it would use $669,843 of a $1 million grant from Miami University to help the Ohio Population Health Alliance establish behavioral health corridors across Southern Ohio to increase support for students pursuing behavioral health professions.
The Southern Ohio Behavioral Health Corridor is a partnership between two universities and five two-year colleges in Southern Ohio and is funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
The Alliance works on a range of issues and includes more than 50 partner universities, hospital associations, provider administrators, health care workers, academic researchers and policy experts.
The funding will provide scholarships, living allowances and paid internship opportunities for students ranging from high school sophomores to graduating seniors, according to the news release.
But the key is to encourage students who don’t have degrees and who plan to stay in the area to complete the program, providing much-needed behavioral health services in rural areas.
“The shortage of behavioral health professionals in Southern Ohio and Appalachia is not just a statistic, it’s a crisis with individuals and families not getting the help and care they need,” Caitlin Riederer, interim managing director of human resources at Integrated Services for Behavioral Health, said in a statement.
“Diversifying pathways into the workforce and supporting workers to continue their education will strengthen the system’s capacity to address behavioral health and its social determinants in homes, clinics, libraries, schools and communities across the region,” added Justin Wheeler, assistant professor at Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions.
Larger trends
In April, Brian Dixon, a research scientist at Indiana University’s Regenstrief Institute and interim director of the Clem McDonald Center for Biomedical Informatics, Healthcare IT News On new analytical strategies for patient-centered population health.
Encouraging patients to take a more active role in their own care and including them in shared decision-making is key to addressing population health issues, he said.
Developing patient analytics for population health can no longer incorporate only provider-completed electronic health record data. Other sources, such as patient-provided data, remote monitoring, and social determinants of health data, are needed to break down silos.
“There are ways to incorporate data into workflows” to enable better patient analytics, he said, noting that the challenge is getting data from numerous devices into enterprise systems.
As has been the case historically in healthcare, “we’re still doing things in somewhat siloed ways,” Dixon said, “but we need to think about how to transition from these great apps and great devices from different companies into a true ecosystem that also serves other patient populations.”
Be on record
“With behavioral health driving up healthcare costs to 3.5 times higher than normal, we believe the only sustainable solution is to build communities of care made up of a variety of providers working with individuals with behavioral health issues,” Alera Health CEO Mike Rose said in a statement.
“Dual opioid abuse and the subsequent COVID-19 pandemic have made it clear that behavioral health is a personal issue for all of us. It’s time for us to leverage that personal impact and create real, lasting change in our systems of care that support individuals with behavioral health issues.”
Andrea Fox is a senior editor at Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a publication of HIMSS Media.
