Integrating substance abuse treatment programs into population-based behavioral care may help improve patient outcomes and lower healthcare cost, according to a study conducted by Louisville, Ky.-based Humana.
Humana worked with healthcare management services company Catasys to integrate a substance abuse treatment program into the insurance company's population-based behavioral health efforts. The program identified individuals at risk for medical and psychiatric complications from substance abuse and engaged them in a 52-week treatment and care coaching guide.
The Humana study found the proactive, integrated, population-based approach to substance abuse program enrollment resulted in:
- An enrollment rate of 17.6 percent, compared to the national average of 10.9 percent
- Sixteen percent fewer emergency department visits for participants and 67 percent fewer inpatient hospitalizations than before beginning the program; and
- A drop in healthcare costs of roughly 46 percent for participants, compared to a 14 percent increase in costs for non-participants.
According to Larry Weinstein, MD, CMO for LifeSynch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana that provides behavioral health services, the improved health outcomes reflect the benefits that population health can achieve by integrating substance abuse programs.
"By taking a proactive approach, as opposed to a reactive one, we were able to reach people at risk for medical and psychiatric complications from substance use disorders," said Dr. Weinstein. "This enabled us to take the necessary steps to help people improve their health."
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