Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1365724
22 Executive Briefing "If I can find legitimate, useful tools to help me take care of patients that are also a reimbursable event, that's a win- win." S. Kyle Young, MD, Commonwealth Pain & Spine pain and mental health. But through the data provided by NeuroFlow, "I'm getting a more comprehensive look at how the patient is doing on the days and weeks when they're not in front of me," he said. "I'm getting much more of a 3D picture of this patient." NeuroFlow provides relevant dashboards and reports indicating patient progress over time. In addition to enhancing a provider's ability to treat an individual patient, "NeuroFlow," shared Ms. Brooks, "provides the opportunity to take a population health approach to patient care. Using validated assessments and qualitative data to risk-stratify a population allows resources to be deployed more effectively to better meet the needs of the patients that we serve." Commonwealth Pain & Spine used digital tools to conduct nearly 3,500 patient assessments in 90 days. This engagement helped the organization improve patient outcomes by reducing patient depression symptoms by 59 percent in three months. At the same time, NeuroFlow also provides the documentation support necessary for this reimbursable care management service, Behavioral Health Integration, which contributed to an average increase of $37 in reimbursement per patient, per month. Better digital engagement — A "win-win" patients and providers "For most patients," Dr. Young said. "If we spend the time to show them the app, show the capabilities and what the advantages are, the vast majority of patients have been happy and pleased that we're taking the time to ask these questions and keep up with them." Beyond directly impacting and improving patient outcomes, integrated care provides a host of advantages including: 1. Improving the practice's efficiency. Because patients answer questions on the app prior to their appointment, valuable appointment time isn't spent completing or scoring an assessment. Instead, physicians can engage with patients about their treatment plans. The data about each patient and the aggregated organization level data improves the practice's workflow and efficiency. NeuroFlow also integrates with several EHRs. Ms. Brooks highlighted, "We're increasing efficiencies of providers, but we're also increasing the efficiencies of the system." 2. Increasing reimbursement. For practices, behavioral health tools facilitate documentation and billing so that providers can get reimbursed for delivering collaborative, integrated care and for checking in on a patient's mental health. "The thing is, you're not only providing better care," Ms. Brooks said. "You're opening up new revenue and profitability streams for practices." Dr. Young, whose practice submitted an additional $70,000 in claims in just its first three months of using NeuroFlow, said, "If I can find legitimate, useful tools to help me take care of patients that are also a reimbursable event, that's a win-win." 3. Identifying at-risk patients. As providers enter more value-based contracts, there will be an increased focus on preventing at-risk patients from becoming high-risk patients. In Ms. Brooks' experience, "You know who your high-risk populations are.". However, "What you don't know are the patients who are silently suffering." By using technology and data it is now possible to see trends over time and identify those patients who could move into the high-risk category — and then act proactively to assist these patients. Digital engagement = more compassionate pain management It's clear that healthcare providers must act to address the many behavioral health issues endemic in society. Behavioral health events like accidental overdose or suicides can ripple through a community. Physicians treating chronic pain are uniquely positioned to help. By engaging with pain patients in a compassionate, convenient way, providers can not only improve patient outcomes, but help support the well-being of the communities they serve. n NeuroFlow is a digital health company combining workflow automation, consumer engagement solutions, and applied AI to promote behavioral health integration in all care settings. NeuroFlow's suite of HIPAA- compliant, cloud-based tools simplify remote patient monitoring, enable risk stratification, and facilitate collaborative, integrated care. With NeuroFlow, health care organizations can finally bridge the gap between mental and physical health in order to improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care. To learn more, visit www.neuroflow.com