COVID, Employers, & Tele-Behavioral Health

BOSTON-May 1, 2020: Access to tele-behavioral health services, and employer coverage of services has increased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with Matthias B. Bowman, MBA, and Henry T. Harbin, MD, Payer+Provider’s Adam C. Powell, Ph.D., developed a white paper, titled, “Tele-Behavioral Health for Employees: Pre-COVID Practices and Recommendations for a Post COVID Path Forward” The white paper summarizes how the state of tele-behavioral health has changed in response to COVID-19, and provides employers and health plans with recommendations on changes to promote in order to foster tele-behavioral health going forward.

The white paper’s development was funded by the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC, a not-for-profit subsidiary of The Bowman Family Foundation. It was produced as a component of The Path Forward, a joint initiative of The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychiatric Association Foundation Center for Workplace Mental Health, Bowman Family Foundation and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.

The white paper is available online at: http://workplacementalhealth.org/getmedia/8dee107a-9561-4c92-92d8-723ce5fa7051/Tele-Behavioral-Health-for-Employees

Measuring the Value of AI

BOSTON-January 2, 2020: As artificial intelligence plays a growing role in radiology, how can the value it delivers be measured? Academic Radiology has published an article titled, “Impact of the Artificial Nudge”, exploring these issues. The article, authored by Adam C. Powell, Ph.D., provides a framework for measuring the financial impact of AI on a healthcare organization, as well as commentary regarding the generalizability of value-related analyses. According to Dr. Powell, “As the nation moves towards value-based care, understanding the financial benefits of innovations such as those related to artificial intelligence will only grow in importance. I wrote this article to provide others a pathway to use when exploring value.”

Academic Radiology is the official journal of the Association of University Radiologists, and in 2018 had an impact factor of 2.267.

The article is available online at: https://www.academicradiology.org/article/S1076-6332(19)30437-4/fulltext

Reimbursement of Apps for Mental Health

WASHINGTON DC-June 11, 2019: Apps are playing a growing role in the delivery of mental healthcare. Nonetheless, there is no single means through which they are being reimbursed. To highlight the diverse set of pathways that are being used for reimbursement in the mHealth industry, Adam C. Powell, PhD., delivered the lunchtime keynote on the subject at the 2019 Mental Health America Policy Institute. Other speakers at the event included Congressman Markwayne Mullin, and leaders in digital health, such as Megan Coder of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance, Yuri Maricich of Pear Therapeutics, Anil Jina of Akili Interactive, and Adam Brickman of Omada Health.

Although a recording of Dr. Powell’s lecture is not available, it closely mirrored an article he wrote on the subject with Matthias Bowman and Henry Harbin: Reimbursement of Apps for Mental Health: Current Practices and Potential Pathways. The article, which has been accepted for publication by JMIR: Mental Health, may be downloaded here: https://doi.org/10.2196/14724

Technology & Healthcare – Access & Affordability

NEW DELHI, INDIA & MALE, MALDIVES: The American Center in New Delhi, India and in Male, Maldives, along with the Indian School of Business, have jointly hosted a webinar by Adam C. Powell, Ph.D. on the role of technology in driving healthcare access and affordability. Dr. Powell began his presentation by providing a history of the changes that have occurred in the United States as a result of the HITECH Act and the Affordable Care Act, before venturing into recent developments in India, including Ayushman Bharat, Aadhaar, and the proposed DISHA legislation. The lecture concluded with a period for questions and answers. A recording of the lecture is available online: https://www.facebook.com/americancenternewdelhi/videos/414515019111625/

The American Center is the U.S. Embassy’s cultural center, and offers a combination of art exhibits, book launches, musical programs, and other educational activities. The American Center is administered by the United States Department of State.

Measuring Value

BOSTON–December 3, 2018: In response to the high interest in measuring value in the context of healthcare, Adam C. Powell, Ph.D. has developed a course on the subject. His course, Quantifying the Value of Informatics, is available to students pursuing Master’s degrees in Health Informatics at Northeastern University. Due to the popularity of the course when it was initially offered in Spring 2018, it was offered immediately again in Fall 2018. Topics covered in the course include:

  • Measuring tangible value
  • Measuring intangible value
  • Creating value
  • Making good estimates without gathering data
  • Gathering data to estimate value
  • The impact of time on value
  • The impact of risk and uncertainty on value
  • Metrics for assessing value

The course draws upon Dr. Powell’s experiences helping organizations determine and demonstrate the value that they deliver. Return On Investment (ROI) analyses have been performed for numerous Payer+Provider clients.