By equipping police with telehealth iPads, the mental health program saved the government $62 million

Through a partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, HunterCare is rolling out telehealth technology to all Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in Oklahoma.

Under funding authorization from Oklahoma Senate Bill 7, the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse distributed more than 30,000 iPads statewide from MyCare Technologies, the behavioral health division of HunterCare, as a mental health resource.

A key component of this new initiative: Law enforcement officials often face challenges in transporting individuals in mental health crises to the nearest facility for evaluation. price. Therefore, legislative funding has facilitated the provision of MyCare iPads to Oklahoma police as well as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. The results are encouraging.

PROBLEM

Police officers serving Oklahoma communities regularly encounter individuals who may be experiencing mental health issues and will have to choose one of two courses of action: arrest them and take them into custody or take them to the emergency room. local rescue so that the individual can be evaluated by a psychiatrist. Medical experts.

Larry Smith, CEO of Major Mental Health.

“This process results in police officers having to wait along with the individual who is experiencing it mental health crisis in the emergency room when we arrive and stay there with them until a decision is made about where the person will be admitted for treatment – or released and taken back to where they were picked up for the first time,” he added.

Waiting for an individual’s final statement can take several hours and then transporting that person to their destination can take several more hours, leaving police officers frustrated and unable to fulfill their role. their role in protecting the community.

In addition to taking up law enforcement’s time, Smith noted, often people needing treatment will have to wait for hours in high-intensity emergency room environments, which often aggravates their injuries. Surname.

“In 2015, this process included more than 1,100 situations in which an individual was brought to the emergency room for evaluation and then transferred to an inpatient hospital, sometimes miles from where they were picked up and from the community where they and their families live for a few hours,” he said.

He added: “We believe the number of people requiring inpatient hospitalization or detention could be reduced if police had a suitable alternative to the local emergency room or jail for those experiencing problems about behavioral health”.

PROPOSE

The first part of the solution to this problem is to design a facility where police officers can take an individual to experience mental health crisis and be assured that they will receive the care they need without the need for official supervision.

This is not only best for the individual, but also allows law enforcement to return to serving their communities as quickly as possible. However, if the facility evaluates the individual and they do not meet the requirements being held against their will, the drive to the facility is a wasted trip. This facility is only part of the solution.

“We know the best case scenario is that our trained behavioral health professionals can perform an on-site mental health assessment at the time the officer first makes contact with the fish,” Smith explains. individual experiencing a mental health crisis.” “What we need is a therapist in every police car to assess anyone suspected of being a danger to themselves or to others.

“Of course, the cost of having a therapist on every police and sheriff’s car in our community is very expensive,” he continued. “In total there are about 900 vehicles that need a therapist 24/7.”

Teams know that the solution must also be efficient and cost-effective.

“We knew this solution had to work in a way that police officers would find it easy to use and reliable 24/7, providing immediate access to an alert and helpful therapist.” helpful in determining what is needed to get the right services for the person they are dealing with,” Smith said. “Our hypothesis was that if we could do all of this, we could avoid sending individuals to the emergency room for non-physical emergencies, and as a result, people would win.

“So we asked the question, ‘What if the therapist could contact the police in real time through video technology and an assessment of the individual in need could be conducted? through video conferencing?'” he continued. “It would have to be quick and easy for police and private use, the video shouldn’t be choppy, and the voice should be clear.”

The size of the screen will need to be larger than a mobile phone to be able to clearly understand what is happening, and connectivity will have to be at 100% at all times.

“After looking at what needs to happen, it’s clear that this is not a problem that can be solved without a lot of creativity and experimentation in a live environment,” Smith noted. “We had to get the police department to work with us on how the technology would best work and what they were willing to use it for.

He added: “We started with a simple process and an easy way for police to contact our facility, where a 24/7 therapist would respond to a video request and complete an assessment. mental health price”.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE

The Craig County Sheriff’s Department has agreed to allow Grand Mental Health to place a custom iPad in their vehicle for use when they encounter an individual who needs to be evaluated for a medical condition. mental health services. All officers have to do is touch a single button on the iPad and it will be answered by a Grand therapist working at one of the 24/7 behavioral health Emergency Recovery Centers by Grand.

“We quickly learned that not only did the officers like to use the iPads, but the individuals being helped liked to use them as well,” Smith recalls. “The amount of time police spend trying to help people in need of appropriate help has fallen and the number of people being admitted to residential units or prisons has also fallen further.

“We soon introduced iPads to all police officers in the seven northeast Oklahoma counties we serve, and our relationship with police has greatly improved,” he continued. “Moreso, access to the services individuals need is immediate and helpful.”

Grand then realized that their police officers encountered intense crisis situations and were themselves traumatized on a daily basis. To solve this problem, Grand added a second button to the iPad so that a police officer who had just gone through a traumatic episode could tap the button and talk to a therapist to de-escalate. There were no records to worry the police.

RESULT

Since the inception of the iPad program, inpatient hospitalizations due to mental health crises have decreased by 93.1% from 2015 – 2021, saving federal and state governments more than $62 million.

“We have now expanded service to 12 rural counties across north central and northeastern Oklahoma, and every law enforcement vehicle in these 12 counties is equipped with our Grand iPad,” Smith reported. “But that’s just the beginning, every Grand customer receives an iPad to continue accessing services. We now have Grand iPads in the homes of over 10,000 customers to receive services when and where where they want.

“As a result, we increased the total number of adult customers served by 362% between 2015 and 2023,” he continued. “We also recently expanded into Tulsa County and are working with local law enforcement there to expand our reach and outreach. We hope to increase double its current footprint entering Tulsa County.”

ADVICE TO OTHERS

After all, mental health is a dynamic industry with many complex challenges. Smith advises that this requires combining the best staff with pioneering thinking, emerging technology and results-based services to solve everyday problems.

“If no solution exists, we will work tirelessly to create one,” he said. “My advice to other healthcare providers is to think creatively and never accept the status quo.

“The “It is our responsibility to break down the stigma around mental health treatment through targeted education for our community partners and increasing access to treatment,” he continued. outcomes-based, data-driven mental health treatment.” using the latest technological advances and services.”

Smith encourages his fellow providers, along with federal, state, and local officials, to view mental health treatment not as an individual’s problem or responsibility but as a problem. and community responsibility.

“We will all have to make a difference,” he concluded. “I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with any agency that can benefit from our first-hand experiences and successes.”

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