Innovation, Access, and Progress: Takeaways From 2024 Conferences

As 2024 begins to wind down, the team at Quartet Health is reflecting on a busy couple of months spent among industry leaders who are committed to improving the landscape of behavioral health. Industry conferences and forums have allowed our leadership team to engage in constructive, solutions-based conversations while learning about the progress our peers and partners are making.

Here are a few highlights from some of the conferences we attended recently:

Barclays Innovation in Behavioral Health Conference

Christina Mainelli, Quartet Health CEO, had the opportunity to speak at Barclays Innovation in Behavioral Health conference in September. Alongside leaders from Eleanor Health and Cortica, the panel — moderated by the managing director for Barclays Healthcare Investment Banking — discussed a needed evolution in the industry from a fee-for-service model to one that embraces value-based care.

Mainelli discussed the limitations of the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) models and explored the upside to value-based care, specifically how it facilitates a more comprehensive approach to care that includes wraparound services such as transportation and in-home care. She pointed out that a transition to value-based care not only provides a higher level of quality care, but improves the patient experience, particularly for patients with serious mental illness.

“The SMI population has a huge unmet need. As payers face growing costs, they need a way to manage this population that is different from what we’ve historically done,” Mainelli said. “We repeatedly hear this need in the market; however, we also find that payors have varying degrees of readiness for value-based care, so we offer multiple options in VBC contracting, not one-size fits all.”

Other takeaways Mainelli noted from the conference include:

• Quartet Health takes pride in being at the forefront of the total cost of care (TCoC) accountability in behavioral health as different payment models are considered throughout the industry.
• Quartet’s innovative Whole Health program, designed specifically for the SMI community, is gaining traction just as the industry expresses growing interest in partnering for solutions for SMI patients.
• Quartet’s access to data, through its Care Connections platform, fosters a more supportive value-based care approach.

The Kennedy Forum Alignment for Progress Conference

We always look forward to participating in behavioral health conversations, especially when board member Patrick Kennedy is involved. Our team attended the Kennedy Forum Alignment for Progress conference in late September and appreciated the opportunity to surround ourselves with our industry’s thought leaders.

The Quartet team particularly appreciated goals shared during the conference’s keynote address. Looking ahead to 2033, Rebecca Bagley and Kana Enomoto spoke about the “90-90-90” goal: 90% of the population is screened for mental health and substance use disorder, 90% who need treatment receive quality care, and 90% are being supported in recovery.

HLTH 2024 Conference

At the HLTH 2024 conference in late October, we were surrounded by mental health innovation and appreciated the feedback we received about our efforts to encourage value-based care and our approach to providing the SMI population with the wraparound care it needs through Whole Health.

Not only were industry leaders at the conference impressed by our SMI population engagement data, but we appreciated that interest in SMI TCoC accountability continues to be the subject of substantive conversation — with a number of leaders viewing our Whole Health program as a bold move in the right direction.

BHT2024 Conference

In early November, our Chief Growth Officer, Karen Mitchell, joined a panel at the Behavioral Health Tech conference to discuss how we can reduce the costs of mental health care while maintaining high-quality treatment.

Five key takeaways from that panel discussion included:

• Access, connection, and quality are the basis of a successful framework.
• Moving beyond a FFS model can better meet behavioral health needs.
• For SMI patients, effective and measurable care can make a significant impact.
• Quartet’s Whole Health program highlights the importance of integrating services that address social, behavioral, and physical health needs, and includes many services that would not be reimbursed with traditional FFS.
• Outcomes are everything, but it’s not just about technology. It’s about creating a culture of measurement with providers, patients, and payors.

Looking ahead to 2025, we look forward to more inspiring conversations about mental and behavioral health innovation and, more importantly, we look forward to implementing innovative solutions that lead to improved outcomes.