David Shillcutt, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Part B News, in “Proposed Digital Therapy Codes Good Idea with Barriers: Experts,” by Roy Edroso. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Experts say the latest Medicare innovations in behavioral health, including one that would pay for patients to use “digital therapies” such as apps, are sensible and welcome. But it remains to be seen how quickly these services would reach the beneficiaries who need it. …
David Shillcutt, attorney and behavioral health expert at Epstein Becker Green in Washington, D.C., says that he’ll be interested to see “the reaction from the industry on pricing. Obviously the FDA clearance process is very expensive. So we’ll see if the app developers are still incentivized to develop these apps.”
But Shillcutt thinks the digital support concept is sound, pointing to the popularity of these kinds of apps in the wild. “One of the most difficult aspects of behavioral health treatment is retaining patients and keeping them engaged,” he says. “And I think there’s real cause for optimism that app-based interactive tools can help to keep patients involved in their own care.” …
Prognosis: Guarded
As for the Medicare behavioral health coverage and payment changes that are already in force, experts say it’s too soon to say how effective they’ve been in terms of utilization or efficacy. “How are you measuring by outcome?” Shillcutt asks. “Many of the treatment indicators that we have like PHQ-9 and GAD scores are not really finely tuned to assess how well treatment is working.”
