Getting Clear About Behavioral Health
Behavioral health is a big topic with many implications for quality. But how should people who care about quality think about behavioral health? In this conversation, we clarify key factors and challenges.
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About The Guests
As NCQA Assistant Vice President for Behavioral Health, Julie Seibert leads NCQA’s efforts to advance the quality of behavioral health care. She conducts research on behavioral health measurement approaches and methods to evaluate behavioral health access, quality and outcomes. Her more than 30 years of experience in research, policy and program development has focused on evaluating system performance and consumer outcomes, for both physical and behavioral health.
Dr. Tom Tsang is founding CEO and current Chief Strategy Officer of Valera Health. An experienced leader in mental health, he is also the former Chief Medical Officer at Healthcare Services and Solutions, a Merck wholly owned subsidiary. Prior to Merck, he was part of the team that crafted the Affordable Care Act through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Institute of Medicine Health Policy Fellowship.
Episode Description
In this episode of Quality Matters, Julie Seibert from NCQA and Tom Tsang of Valera Health unpack the complexities of behavioral health care, focusing on the interconnected challenges of access, quality and payment.
Our guests highlight the importance of addressing both mental and physical health together, especially as conversations around behavioral health have evolved post-pandemic. The discussion explores systemic barriers, such as provider shortages, while showcasing solutions such as telehealth and value-based payment. Listeners gain valuable insights into building accessible, high-quality behavioral health care systems that meet diverse needs.
And if there are fewer practitioners, it’s difficult to have access. If there are not enough people to permit sufficient access, that lowers quality.
They’re all inextricably combined.
A lot of people have changes in morbidity and mortality because of loneliness. Depression can impact someone’s intake of food consumption, impacting fasting glucose and adherence to medical management of their chronic illnesses. We’ve also seen the impact on the child and adolescent population in terms of learning disabilities, teenage suicides, drug use, alcohol consumption.
We’ve seen all of that happen over the last five years.
Timestamps
(00:30) The Complexity of Behavioral Health
(03:18) A 3-Pronged Model for Behavioral Health
(06:23) Quality Dimensions in Behavioral Health
(08:42) Bringing Value-Based Care to Behavioral Health
(11:57) Payment Models and Challenges in Behavioral Health
(15:25) Telehealth in Behavioral Health: Opportunities and Challenges