Young patients who turn 18 are suddenly forced to fend for themselves in a complex health care system, which can lead to confusion, frustration and gaps in health care.

The adolescent years pose many challenges, including emerging sexuality, development of personal identity and adult relationships, behavioral health issues and a high degree of risk-taking behaviors.

To help our members connect patients with the behavioral health support they need, VHAN continues to provide new tools and connections to community resources.

Members have told us they often struggle to access and organize patient data from seemingly endless sources.

VHAN is pleased to announce that the network achieved 100% performance on all Aetna Commercial quality measures in 2021. VHAN members also scored higher than Aetna’s Q4 national average on several measures, including Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening and Comprehensive Diabetes Care.

Earlier this year, VHAN staff presented on VHAN’s Community Health Worker (CHW) pilot during Aetna’s quarterly Provider Clinical Transformation Webinar Series. The pilot, launched in 2019, was designed to improve access to care and resources for obstetric patients at Gallatin Women’s OBGYN Center (GWC) in Gallatin, Tennessee, which has a large prenatal patient population with approximately 350 babies born annually. The CHW pilot was designed to help with resource referrals and interventions for patients who need assistance with access to health care, physical and behavioral health support, and social determinants such as homelessness, food insecurity and unemployment. During the Aetna presentation, VHAN shared some initial results of the pilot.

VHAN is excited to announce that the network’s pediatric depression screening rate has dramatically improved. In 2019, VHAN began measuring annual depression screening for children 12 and older. To assist members who were struggling in this area, VHAN licensed clinical social workers met with practices to promote the social work program and the benefits of using the pediatric behavioral health consult line. As a result, by 2021, no VHAN members received a score of zero for depression screening and 46% of practices screened 90% of their VHAN patients for depression.

To manage utilization while maintaining quality of care, VHAN is introducing the Geriatric Resources for the Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE) Program, an evidence-based model to improve quality while controlling costs for older patients with complex care needs.

According on an American Psychological Association survey with psychologists in 2022, the demand for mental health treatment continues to rise