Creating a statement that mental health and physical health have parity is important for achieving outcomes in patients with chronic illnesses, said Trishan Panch, MBBS, MPH, chief medical officer at Wellframe.
Creating a statement that mental health and physical health have parity is important for achieving outcomes in patients with chronic illnesses, said Trishan Panch, MBBS, MPH, chief medical officer at Wellframe.
Transcript (slightly modified for readability)
How does the mental health parity law make a difference in promoting better coordination of primary and behavioral healthcare?
Firstly, the way it helps more effectively is by creating a statement that mental health and physical health have parity, and that mental health should be considered. I think providers have been considering mental health problems for a while, but not being reimbursed or the patient not having adequate benefits to provide adequate mental healthcare has been a big problem. This is a mechanism to address that because it sets something in place regarding an ideological commitment to the parity of mental health and physical health.
But secondly, you're also creating a mechanism for patients to get access to the mental healthcare they need. And in the context of physical health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, those patients—and this is well known—with mental health problems are the most complicated to manage and incur a lot of the complications and the costs associated with those complications.
So good mental health makes sense even if the focus is just on achieving the outcomes of improved HbA1c or improved blood pressure or things associated with the control of diabetes because part of the mechanism to achieving that is addressing the patient's mental health problems. So I think it really helps to put that on the agenda.
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
Listen
Contributor: More Informed Management of Preeclampsia Is Necessary
November 29th 2023At present, it is difficult for clinicians to identify patients at greatest risk for developing preeclampsia with severe features and tailor treatment plans for them; this difficulty increases costs significantly.
Read More
Insufficient Data, Disparities Plague Lung Cancer Risk Factor Documentation
September 24th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the senior author of a study published in the September 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® on the importance of adequate and effective lung cancer risk factor documentation to determine a patient's eligibility for screening.
Listen
Study Validates Smartphone Analysis for Predicting Obstructive Sleep Apnea
November 29th 2023Findings show breathing sounds recorded by smartphones during sleep at home can reliably identify obstructive sleep apnea, presenting an innovative and accessible alternative to traditional in-laboratory polysomnography.
Read More