Pop health IT helps Partners in Recovery reduce psychiatric hospital admissions by 50%

Combining psychiatric and primary care data, including social determinants of health, has also helped reduce ER spending from $2,265 per patient per month to just $875. Partners in Recovery recognized that a large portion of its patients also had undiagnosed and untreated chronic medical conditions, including hypertension, respiratory illness, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Together, these factors contributed to significant overutilization of the emergency department and hospitals – with some Partners patients visiting EDs 70 or more times per year.

“A high rate of undiagnosed and untreated health conditions is common among individuals with mental and behavioral health conditions, with one study attributing 60% of premature deaths to these causes,” said Christy Dye, CEO of Partners in Recovery.

“Medical costs among these patients also are far higher than their mental healthcare expenditures alone, so effectively treating both types of conditions are crucial to driving down the overall cost of care,” she said.