“Our Iris Telehealth provider is highly skilled and helped us improve access for our patients immediately. Incorporating teletherapy into what we already do at Swope Health has been an important piece of the puzzle that makes it all work.”
Karen Suddath
Deputy Director of Behavioral Health, Swope Health
Since August 2021, Iris Telehealth has provided high-quality behavioral health support to Swope Health’s patient population through teletherapy.
Background
Swope Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and a Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) delivering comprehensive healthcare services to people living in the greater Kansas City area. They provide same-day telehealth services, transportation assistance, and mobile programs, meeting their community’s needs with high-quality care, counseling, and treatment. As champions of community health, they provide a team-based, integrated care approach that’s personalized to the unique needs of their population.
Challenges
Swope Health works to meet patient needs with immediate access to high-quality care. However, like many healthcare organizations across the country, facilitating this level of access was Swope’s number one challenge. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finding the right provider match for their organization was becoming increasingly difficult. As they were figuring out how to adapt to a new world, they knew they would need access to resources and additional help quickly.
However, Swope began facing new challenges with recruiting, and their old hiring strategies weren’t working anymore. They knew they needed a highly-skilled provider who would require little clinical oversight, have the correct licensure, and be comfortable with technology. However, their local provider pool was insufficient, and they couldn’t find someone in their area to help fill in the gaps for their organization. That’s where Iris Telehealth came in.
Solution
Iris Telehealth worked closely with the team at Swope to find the perfect provider who could integrate seamlessly into their organization. Fortunately, due to their team’s experience with digital health during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were well accustomed to working in a virtual environment. By making teletherapy available to their community, Swope was able to help their community get the care they needed.
Swope has even extended their reach into local homeless shelters, where they’ve set up iPads, allowing residents to speak with a therapist when needed. Swope’s innovative approach doesn’t stop there – they’re even considering investing in soundproof booths where patients can engage in their telepsychiatry and teletherapy appointments privately.
Results
Since partnering with Iris, Swope has seen show rates increase by 5% and has been able to substantially reduce their patient waiting lists. In addition to the enhanced convenience for patients, Swope has found the perfect provider match for their organization. This success is due to Iris’s rigorous approach to provider matching.
At Iris, all providers complete a thorough vetting and interview process that includes multiple video interviews, detailed reference checks, and work history verification. Because of this strategy, Swope could secure a highly-skilled provider for their organization. They noted that the provider quickly integrated into their organization and helped them meet their goal of improving access to care immediately.
Additionally, Swope Health was one of the first CCBHCs to utilize a prospective payment system rate (PPS) instead of fee-for-service, allowing them to spend more focused time connecting with patients. Since their CCBHC designation, they’ve become more data-driven, and access has been consistently at the top of their list. As a quality-focused organization, Iris has been able to help them meet their goals and increase access to compassionate and dedicated behavioral health providers.
Telehealth is another tool that adds to the impactful and incredible work Swope Health is doing for its community. To learn more about Swope Health, you can visit their website here.
If you’d like to learn more about how Iris can help you find the perfect provider match, let us know in the form below!
