For Effective Substance Use Treatment, Executive Stresses Data Analysis

From patient acquisition and outcomes management to care and payer analysis, data is being leveraged in an increasing number of ways by behavioral healthcare organizations.

At the recent Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat in Scottsdale, Arizona, Michael Maassel, director of alumni and recovery support for Vertava Health, participated in a panel discussion on the use of metrics to drive program growth. Vertava is a multistate provider of residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and support services.

Maassel spoke with Behavioral Healthcare Executive about Vertava’s use of data to drive decisions, the metrics that provider organizations should be focusing on, and keys for identifying useful trends within the data being collected.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Behavioral Healthcare Executive: What are some examples of how your organization is leveraging data to drive key decisions?

Michael Maassel: We are leveraging data to be able to look at what a continuum of care looks like. Do we need to be able to offer and provide a continuum of care? When we look at the average length of stay, are our clients—after their average length of stay backed by insurance—choosing to go to a step down, and are they successfully completing that step down? It’s really important that when we’re leveraging that data to make decisions, we look at if we’re putting the client first. If they don’t have insurance capabilities, what does it look like for us as far as treatment cost is concerned? Are we making it an easy decision for them to continue in our line of care so that we do not have to refer them out?

BHE: What kinds of metrics should behavioral healthcare providers be focusing on with their operations?

MM: Oh, this is a tough one. Are the clients staying involved in treatment and are they completing treatment? Like I said earlier, if they aren’t, if they have to step down to a lower level of care, are they completing that 3-month intensive outpatient (IOP), that 6-month IOP? When we are looking at keeping them in healthy recovery, what does that look like? Are we able to help them fully commit to their continuum of care?

The biggest thing that I wanted to bring up that we haven’t touched on yet  is looking at the data for relapse, or return to use, for our clients. We’re looking at when they leave treatment and they go back out, and then they come back to us because this is a safe place to look at. When are we going to start looking at that metric as, “oh, they left treatment, but then they immediately came back,” or, “how long were they out before we were able to say, hey, we can actually get you the help that you need?”

Looking at what are we really doing for the human being as it pertains to what they need, whether they come to treatment because they want to or they need to, how quick are they to realize that they can come back and what those numbers look like. And if they return to treatment quickly, what does that say about the work that we’re doing that makes this a safe place?

BHE: Within that data, are you able to identify trends or perhaps a recurring scenario among who are returning to substance use after treatment?

MM: Within substance use treatment, we’re seeing more people that are on substances such as opioids and meth. We’re noticing that those patients more quickly to return to use as opposed to alcohol use.

What we’re also noticing is when people are more quickly returning to use, it’s because we haven’t done our job as a system for a proper taper method. And so when we look at them when they’re returning to use, is it because they weren’t set up for success? When they come back, are they coming back because they want to be successful? Obviously, there’s the fear of dying, but what are we learning? The biggest thing I can say that we are learning is what we’re not doing—whether there were underlying or co-occurring mental health issues that we didn’t realize needed to be addressed sooner than later. So it’s leaving a lot of room for curiosity, I will say, for clinicians to be able to say, “hey, what is really the order of operations we need to look at here for our patients’ needs so that when they do leave, they’re not as quick to return to use and are they being set up with alumni programming?” This is something I talk about a lot, being in that realm. Do we have them set up with community so that they are more successful?

Reference

Wolfington C, Maassel M, Kureska K, Thiessen P. Measuring success: key metrics for program growth. Presented at: Treatment Center Investment & Valuation Retreat. December 5-7. Scottsdale, Arizona.