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NASHVILLE, Tenn. Over half of individuals in the U.S. with behavioral conditions remain undiagnosed or untreated, and healthcare organizations are working with the latest technology to fix this problem. Business of Healthcare has begun releasing its interview series on these innovations.

Business of Healthcare, an interview series hosted by Matthew Hanis, spoke with industry experts David Young, Chairman of Raiven Healthcare and Paul Harris, CEO of Virtual Psych Assessment Center (VPAC).

View video interview here.

Young discusses the ability to use machine learning to aid in mental and behavioral health treatment in Business of Healthcare’s latest interview, “Behavioral Health Provider Efficiency thru Machine Learning.”

Leaving mental and behavioral health conditions undiagnosed and untreated impacts productivity for employers, educational achievement in children, and even more catastrophic effects.

“The recent shootings that have occurred and these acts of violence have really, really concerned me because in both cases – Newtown and Las Vegas – it appears there were undiagnosed mental health issues, and if we could have gotten to them, could we have prevented that? Young muses. “I don’t know.”

This technology has the ability to not only identify these high-risk individuals, but recommend the right treatment over time to address their health

Using data collected by Centerstone of America, one of the largest nationwide not-for-profit mental and behavioral health services providers, Raiven Healthcare develops machine learning techniques to identify those likely to suffer from undiagnosed behavioral health conditions and, once diagnosed, suggest the most effective treatment plan at an optimal cost. Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence, when machines perform tasks which traditionally required human intelligence   These algorithms allow computers to learn over time from data and experiences that will lead to improved outcomes and cost in healthcare.

In addition to allowing doctors to more effectively and efficiently diagnose patients, Young suggests machine learning trained to treat mental health and behavioral health disorders could also let individuals know when they are at risk for triggers related to their disorder.

“If we could be more effective in asking patients those questions that are insightful to the machine learning and get that data into the machine learning process, that now enables a clinician to be more efficient in detection and treatment and presumably could even get to the point where the machine learning directly triggers the patient and tells them about themselves,” Hanis summed up.

VPAC has innovated the solution to just that issue of asking questions of patients more efficiently. Paul Harris, Chief Executive Officer of VPAC, is featured in another Business of Healthcare interview titled, “Innovator Improving Psychiatrist Productivity and Access.”

Harris explains VPAC enables behavioral health providers to collect self-reported patient data and receive a narrative diagnosis recommendation prior to the initial patient encounter. This makes diagnosing and treating patients far more efficient, enabling providers to serve more patients. In a country where behavioral health providers are in short supply and strapped for time, this data can help them see more patients and spend more patient-facing time teaching about and treating their condition.

“A primary care doctor could more efficiently triage a patient from their care to a behavioral health specialist using our assessment,” said Harris. “It’s a tool that gathers patient information in a standardized fashion, thereby providing the behavioral specialist with a full view into that patient before they see them.”

To view both interviews, please visit BOHSeries.com.

About Raiven Healthcare
Providers use the Raiven Healthcare real-time, predictive analytics platform for complex health treatments, accessing the artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help determine the clinical treatment path that will deliver the best outcome at the optimum cost for a specific patient. The company’s groundbreaking technology has increased outcomes by 40% while decreasing cost by 60%. Raiven’s solutions are ideal for those engaged in risk-based contracts, including accountable care organizations (ACOs) and providers in gainsharing agreements that require advanced algorithms to deliver actionable results that address specific problems. For more information about Raiven, visit www.raivenhealth.com or call 888-932-7674.

About VPAC
VPAC is an organization that specializes in digital solutions for behavioral healthcare.  Their software applications collect patient generated data and use scoring algorithms to provide recommended behavioral diagnoses.  Solutions can be customized, and can evaluate for over 50 possible psychiatric conditions, including suicide and violence risk.  The goal is to facilitate better patient access, more efficient care, and improved outcomes by assessing patients prior to meeting with their healthcare provider.  You can learn more at vpacclinical.com.

About Business of Healthcare
BOH is an interview series serving the top decision makers across healthcare. Each episode brings together healthcare executives and innovation thought leaders to explore proven solutions to healthcare’s most complex problems. An editorially-independent and non-partisan media service, each BOH episode advances healthcare Mission and Margin. Published interviews are free to access at www.BOHSeries.com.