Expanding behavioral health access requires new ways to create capacity
Faced with behavioral health demand that exceeded available capacity, one academic health system needed a way to connect more patients with appropriate care without simply adding staff or physical space.
Using Xealth to integrate behavioral health partners Rula and Brightside into existing workflows, the system expanded access, significantly reduced wait times for referred patients, and created additional capacity within its own clinics.
The system lacked the capacity to meet growing behavioral health needs without hiring additional staff or expanding its physical footprint—both significant investments.
The organization needed another way to serve patients whose needs could appropriately be addressed outside its own clinics while maintaining the relationship between those patients and the health system.
Xealth integrated Rula and Brightside into the health system’s EHR, allowing appropriate patients to be referred to external behavioral health services.
The approach provided new options for low-acuity patients, patients seeking longer-term therapy after completing treatment, and patients seeking care from clinics that had reached capacity.
By incorporating external behavioral health resources into its care model, the health system expanded access while preserving internal capacity for patients whose needs required its specialized services.
The average psychotherapy wait time for patients referred to Rula decreased 80%—from 66 to 13 days. And, 296 psychotherapy visit slots freed by appropriately redirecting existing patients to Rula or Brightside.
