Behavioral health and telemedicine: What's in store for 2022

There will be a growing acceptance among providers and payers to embrace new technology offerings, particularly as we find ourselves in a COVID-centric era that is so dependent on telehealth and other digital tools to support behavioral health providers and the continued surge in patients seeking care. With the goal of all behavioral health organizations to improve clinical outcomes, the best way to accomplish that objective is to collect and measure evidence-based data. Data, derived from measurement-based care technology including assessments, patient intake forms, and social determinants of health insights and past history, is what ultimately informs clinicians and executives on care and if their treatment plans are working or if they need to make adjustments. This year, more than ever, behavioral health organizations will measure quality using evidence-based data. Measurement-based care – defined as the practice of providing clinical care based upon client data collected throughout treatment – will gain popularity as more behavioral health organizations rely on this methodology to improve quality and consistency of care. With their ultimate business goal to improve clinical outcomes, hospitals and health systems will further recognize that incorporating measurement-based care into their practices is the best way to confirm and document patient progress. Greater use of analytics to analyze patient populations will provide behavioral health organizations with the ability to deliver more personalized care that is tailored to the needs of an individual – for example, digital cognitive behavioral therapy. Q. What role does behavioral health IT have to support value-based care? Here is the link to behavioral health IT: In order to demonstrate value and quality in behavioral health, there needs to be greater emphasis on measuring outcomes with evidence-based data and exchanging that information between payers and providers. Data derived from a robust measurement-based care platform that gathers and analyzes outcomes data will provide the necessary information that is needed to truly understand how well a provider is performing in managing their population's health.