Montefiore Health System has tapped Valera Health to add a “new element to patient care” to support an integrated behavioral healthcare model that facilitates patient engagement using two-way messaging, appointment reminders, tailored educational content, and automated self-assessments. One of New York’s premier academic health systems is using Valera’s mobile-enabled platform that alerts care managers to changes in a patient’s condition which suggest the need for clinical intervention and help improve care planning.

The pilot Behavioral Health Integration Program (B-HIP) began July 2016 and so far it is showing significant improvements in depression and anxiety scores, as well as reduced remission rates. Additionally, Montefiore’s care managers were able to interact with patients three times more than usual and manage caseloads of up to 120 people.

“We are pleased with the results of Valera’s technology platform. The patients feel very connected to their providers and the care managers appreciate the efficiency of fewer voicemails and no-show visits,” B-HIP’s executive project director, Henry Chung, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer of Montefiore’s Care Management Organization, said in a statement. “Most important, the technology allows us to provide high-quality care to more people as we work to integrate behavioral health into primary care. Technology is a great partner in this mission.”

The smartphone app is provided to patients receiving collaborative medical and behavioral health care at five Montefiore primary care sites in Bronx, NY as part of the B-HIP grant Montefiore received from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to embed behavioral health into primary care for children and adults.

Valera Health combines digital technology, algorithm development, and evidence-based care models to deliver personalized behavioral healthcare when and where it is needed most.