Connecting to Mental Health Providers

Intermountain Healthcare https://intermountainhealthcare.org recently launched Alluceo, www.alluceohealth.com, a new Intermountain Healthcare company offering team-based mental health integration services and technology. The plan is to normalize mental health services and simplify the process for connecting people with a team of skilled caregivers.

Alluceo’s services and technology are based on a program called “Mental Health Integration” (MHI) built by Intermountain Healthcare primary care clinicians and leaders. The MHI program prioritizes physical and mental health equally and integrates mental and behavioral health services as a routine part of primary medical care. The program uses a team-based care model that can include the patient, family, doctors, mental health providers, and care managers.

Alluceo’s digital platform makes the science of mental health integration accessible and powers team-based care protocols. The technology enables a patient’s full care team to remotely and seamlessly communicate, assess risk and complexity, and then deliver connected care. Using this technology opens up new possibilities for mental and behavioral health care delivery as well as being able to use the technology to also better prevent and manage chronic conditions.

As reported in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” on the Mental Health Integration program, tangible results have been noted:

  • The team-based care model had higher rates of active depression screening –46.1 vs. 23.1 percent
  • Produced a lower rate for emergency room visits—23 percent reduction
  • Produced a lower rate of hospital admissions—10.6 percent reduction
  • Produced a lower cost of care to communities –a savings of 3.3 percent
  • Better patient care through improved care management—reduced primary care physician encounters by 7 percent with more patients receiving focused care.

 

Brenda Reiss-Brennan, PhD, Mental Health Integration Director at Intermountain Healthcare, said, “Alluceo will enable other health systems, payers, providers, patients, and families to experience the impactful results and in the process, elevate the health of entire communities.”