MetroHealth, the public safety-net hospital system in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, is partnering with a virtual health company called Ovatient to integrate virtual behavioral health services into primary care.
MetroHealth has five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Ovatient was formed through a partnership between MetroHealth and MUSC Health in Charleston, South Carolina, in October 2022.
Since launching virtual care services in April with MetroHealth, Ovatient has completed more than 10,000 visits in Ohio. And of the patients served in its virtual primary care offering, almost 19% have been identified as needing behavioral health services. With Ovatient’s new virtual behavioral health services, MetroHealth seeks to leverage new effective ways to reach patients in need of mental health support quickly and conveniently.
“At MetroHealth, we have long believed that a patient’s well-being is more than just their physical health. That’s why we continually invest in growing our behavioral health services to serve our diverse community,” Nabil Chehade, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical transformation officer for MetroHealth System, said in a statement. “This partnership with Ovatient allows us to step up for our patients by providing them with high-quality virtual behavioral health support that is seamlessly connected to their primary care team. We strongly believe in Ovatient’s virtual care model, which is improving access to care for our patients and increasing MetroHealth’s involvement in care in our region. “We look forward to continuing to partner with Ovatient to provide more virtual care solutions to our patients.”
The new services, including brief individual therapy, single-session interventions and skills groups, represent the next step in Ovatient’s investment to develop its integrated multi-specialty virtual practice.
“We are extremely proud and excited to partner with MetroHealth to launch Ovatient’s virtual behavioral health services, integrated with primary care. This is an important milestone for our company as we continue to invest in and grow our virtual multi-specialty practice,” he said Ovatient. CEO Michael Dalton, in a statement: “These new services will allow MetroHealth to better reach new and existing patients who are in critical need of mental health support and are seeking a team approach to their care. “This foundation to increase access to high-quality, convenient virtual care in Ohio and across the country.”
The company said real-time data integration with Epic and MyChart enables seamless coordination between behavioral health and other medical providers, improving the quality of care and demonstrating a clear return on investment.
“The research is clear. Integrated primary and behavioral care improves patient outcomes and satisfaction, increases access to care, and reduces costs for patients and the health system,” said Amy Lukowski, Psy.D. , director of Integrated Behavioral Health at Ovatient. in a statement: “We are thrilled to partner with MetroHealth to introduce these new services and seamlessly connect patients across Northeast Ohio with convenient and affordable mental health support.”
