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Tech-enabled care delivery model offers high-quality treatment in partnership with primary care and community resources
NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Quartet Health, a leading mental health care technology and services company, today announced the launch of its behavioral health care clinic. In light of the mental health capacity shortage seen nationwide, the clinic's aim is to fill in care gaps and deliver speed to quality behavioral healthcare for all, especially those with moderate to severe mental illness (SMI).
Behavioral health care needs have risen sharply across the United States since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting clinicians under enormous pressure as demand for mental health services outpaces supply. That gap is particularly serious for high-acuity patients. Data shows that last year, more than 129 million people lived in a federally designated mental health care "professional shortage area" and throughout the pandemic 65% of mentalhealth organizations have had to cancel, reschedule, or turn awaypatients.
"Patients with serious mental illness are underserved, and there is a need for more access to measurement-based, quality care. We're excited to introduce the clinic, which will help support a patient population that often cannot find care outside of the emergency department," said Christina Mainelli, President and Chief Operating Officer of Quartet Health. "We recognize the capacity constraints; there are simply not enough in-network clinicians to serve patients quickly. Our providers will complement existing networks to ensure all patients can get timely access to quality care."
Treatment from the clinic is provided by a dedicated, full-time multidisciplinary care team with experience delivering high-quality, evidence-based care to complex patient populations. The care team will coordinate care with primary care and community resources for comprehensive quality care. The team is led by board-certified psychiatrists and composed of psychiatric nurse practitioners, licensed clinical social workers, nurse care managers, and patient care coordinators.
Clinic services include biopsychosocial assessments, comprehensive psychiatric evaluations, medication management, follow-up visits, and ongoing psychotherapy. In addition, nurse care managers assist patients with food, housing, job training and placement, access to medical health care, and other crucial areas that can contribute to and exacerbate mental health challenges.
"We treat the whole patient using a comprehensive approach that utilizes measurement-based care" said Dr. Michael Lipp, Quartet's Chief Medical Officer. "High quality care requires an understanding of each patient's needs, which includes not just their medical care but support in other areas of their lives."
Measurement-based care focuses on whole-person outcomes, as opposed to the traditional fee-for-service model, and allows patient progress and outcomes to be tracked consistently across all clinicians and patients. Keeping patients engaged throughout their care journey is a top priority for the clinic's providers to ensure improved quality outcomes.
The clinic launch comes at a time of significant growth for Quartet. In 2021, the company acquired innovaTel Telepsychiatry as part of its strategy to develop market-leading care delivery capabilities to complement its existing ecosystem of high-performing clinicians who practice in-network on behalf of health insurance plans.
Quartet now employs over 200 clinicians, has over 20,000 providers on its platform, and serves over half a million patients annually — a number that is expected to double in 2023. The clinic launched in July, and Quartet has plans for a significant expansion in the coming year.
"Our clinic represents a major milestone in Quartet's commitment to improving access and speed to care," said Dr. Sherry Dubester, the company's Chief Clinical Strategy & Quality Officer. "But we're not done yet. We are excited to enter new markets and share results as our clinical care population and data set grows. We're proud of our successes so far in improving access to and quality of mental health care — and we're just getting started."
About Quartet HealthQuartet is a platform that makes it easier for people to get the best behavioral health care for them. Quartet's technology and services reach people who need care, connect them to the right care, track the quality of their care, and support their care journeys. Quartet is backed by top investors like Oak HC/FT, GV (formerly Google Ventures), F-Prime Capital Partners, Polaris Partners, Deerfield Management, Centene Corporation, Independence Health Group, and Echo Health Ventures. Quartet partners with health insurance plans, health systems, community mental health centers, certified community behavioral health clinics, and federally qualified health centers in 32 states across the country to help people get the care they need.
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SOURCE Quartet Health, Inc.