Health IT, Startups

Study using Valera Health app shows boost in engagement from patients with depression, anxiety

The data from the study were particularly interesting because it shows that the push for greater utilization of digital tools in the behavioral health space is yielding positive results with clinical validation.

A year after announcing a study to assess the effectiveness of its app on patients with anxiety and depression, Brooklyn-based behavioral health startup Valera Health showed an increase in engagement.

Montefiore Medical System, a partner in the study, presented the study findings at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in San Diego this week, according to a press release.

The data from the study were particularly interesting because tech adoption among Medicaid patients tends to be low. It also shows that the push for greater utilization of digital tools in the behavioral health space is yielding positive results with clinical validation.

The app and companion program integrate behavioral health with primary care over a 12-week period.  Patients in the study were tracked between 12-18 weeks, depending on how long they needed to stay at the facility, Thomas Tsang, Valera Health cofounder and CEO, said in an email. But the average was 12 weeks.

The tool is designed to measure patients’ communication directly with their care team, track wellness targets, and report their wellbeing. It also sends appointment reminders. It’s also designed to assess patient behavior through patients’ level of activity based on smartphone sensor data. If there’s an indication that the user’s condition is deteriorating, the app will inform the patient’s care team, sparking intervention earlier.

The findings indicated that depression and anxiety scores and remission rates showed significant improvement, according to the release.

Dr. Henry Chung, Chief Medical Officer with Montefiore Health System’s Care Management Organization and executive project director of the Behavioral Health Integration Program, told MobiHealthNews that the study findings showed that engagement from patients using the app was 68 percent compared with under 30 percent for Medicaid patients.

“This is really exciting stuff because we have [been] working with integrating primary care and behavioral health for the past five years, and with the federal grant, we really started looking at the sustainability of our program. That brought us to really look at technology like Valera’s,” Chung told MobiHealthNews in an interview. “We were still a little concerned because we know there are lower technology adoption rates in low literacy and relatively economically poor populations, but the patients really took to it. It exceeded our expectations.”

Over a three-month period, Chung said patients and care teams interacted with each other an average of 14 times through the app compared with three times in the same period through phone calls. There were also fewer missed appointments.

In response to questions from MedCity News, Chung said in an email that the institution “definitely” saw clinical improvement and said data suggested that it may increase the effectiveness of the treatment offered.

“Patient engagement is superb given the patient demographic of low literacy and Medicaid populations… In terms of cost reduction, we have not yet completed the analysis. But we can say that the technology is cost effective as it allows case managers to manage many more patients in treatment while maintaining a patient-centered approach.”

McLean Hospital, the largest psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is also working with Valera on a clinical study of its app with patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Photo: ANDRZEJ WOJCICKI, Getty Images

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