Brandeis University Reports Findings in Managed Care (How Health Plans Promote Health IT to Improve Behavioral Health Care)

Insurance Weekly News

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Researchers detail new data in Managed Care. According to news reporting originating in Waltham, Massachusetts, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "Given the large numbers of providers and enrollees with which they interact, health plans can encourage the use of health information technology (IT) to advance behavioral health care. The manner and extent to which commercial health plans promote health IT to improve behavioral health care is unknown."

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Brandeis University, "This study aims to address that gap. Cross-sectional study. Data are from a nationally representative survey of commercial health plans regarding administrative and clinical dimensions of behavioral health services in 2010. Data are weighted to be representative of commercial managed care products in the United States (n = 8427; 88% response rate). Approaches within the domains of provider support, access to care, and assessment and treatment were investigated as examples of how health plans can promote health IT to improve behavioral health care delivery. Health plans were using health IT approaches in each domain. About a quarter of products offered financial support for electronic health records, but technical assistance was rare. Primary care providers could bill for e-mail contact with patients for behavioral health in about a quarter of products. Few products offered member-provider e-mail, and none offered online appointment scheduling. However, online referral systems and online provider directories were common, and nearly all offered an online self-assessment tool; most offered online counseling and online personalized responses to questions or problems. In 2010, commercial health plans encouraged the use of health IT strategies for behavioral health care."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Health plans have an important role to play for increasing health IT as a tool for behavioral health care."

For more information on this research see: How Health Plans Promote Health IT to Improve Behavioral Health Care. American Journal of Managed Care, 2016;22(12):810-815. American Journal of Managed Care can be contacted at: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A.E. Quinn, Brandeis University, Heller Sch Social Policy & Management, Waltham, MA, United States. Additional authors for this research include S. Reif, B. Evans, T.B. Creedon, M.T. Stewart, D.W. Garnick and C.M. Horgan.