Mount Laurel, NJ, December 19, 2024 – Array Behavioral Care, the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice providing quality mental health services across the continuum of care, today announced its integrated clinical systems have earned certified status by HITRUST for foundational cybersecurity.
HITRUST e1 Certification demonstrates that Array is focused on the most critical controls to demonstrate that essential cybersecurity hygiene is in place. The e1 assessment is one of three progressive HITRUST assessments that leverage the HITRUST Framework (HITRUST CSF) to prescribe cyber threat adaptive controls that are appropriate for each assurance type.
“In today’s environment, it’s imperative that organizations like ours keep pace with current and emerging threats,” said Patrick Williamson, CIO at Array Behavioral Care. “We are pleased to demonstrate to customers our commitment to cybersecurity and data protection through HITRUST e1 Certification.”
“The HITRUST e1 Validated Assessment is a good tool for cyber-aware organizations like Array Behavioral Care that want to build assurances and progressively demonstrate due diligence around information security and privacy,” said Robert Booker, Chief Strategy Officer at HITRUST. “We applaud Array Behavioral Care for their commitment to cybersecurity and successful completion of their HITRUST e1 Certification.”
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice, delivering high-quality behavioral health services through a fully integrated continuum of care from hospital to home. Array partners with hospitals, health systems, community organizations, and payors to provide timely, expert treatment that meets the needs of patients where they are with the right care at the right time and in the right dose. As an established leader with more than 25 years of experience in telepsychiatry, Array sets the standard for excellence by offering innovative solutions that improve access, enhance outcomes, and support seamless care delivery. Its partnership with KeyCare , the nation's first Epic EHR-based virtual care company, is eliminating system-wide gaps in mental health treatment. Learn more about how Array is transforming behavioral health at www.arraybc.com.
Array Behavioral Care media contact:
Mark Karges
HermesPR
array@hermespr.co
The nation’s leading virtual psychiatry and therapy provider reflects on 25 years of innovation, advancing integrated care and improving mental health outcomes.
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., December 12, 2024 -- Array Behavioral Care, the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice, is celebrating 25 years of transforming access to high-quality mental health services. Since its founding in 1999, Array has grown from a local practice in southern New Jersey to a fully integrated, nationwide leader providing comprehensive virtual behavioral health care to millions of patients across all 50 states.
How It All Started
Array was founded in response to a critical need for timely access to psychiatric care in rural communities. After a tragic incident involving a pediatric patient, Dr. James R. Varrell, Array’s founder, introduced telepsychiatry as an innovative solution to address critical gaps in access to mental health care. This local initiative quickly grew into a national model, leading to the first-ever involuntary commitment via telepsychiatry.
Where Array Stands Today
Today, Array is the only virtual behavioral health practice delivering care across the continuum – from acute crisis stabilization to ongoing outpatient management. With more than 3.5 million patient encounters, partnerships with over 450 hospitals, health systems, and clinics, and in-network coverage for more than 90 million Americans, Array is setting the standard for seamless, integrated care.
“The US healthcare system is marked by fragmented care and a shortage of psychiatric providers. At Array, we are dedicated to bridging those gaps by integrating physical and mental health care,” said Dr. Sara Gotheridge, Chief Medical Officer of Array Behavioral Care. “Our goal is to ensure patients receive timely, appropriate care wherever they are in the journey.”
Innovation, Growth, and the Path Forward
For 25 years, Array has redefined behavioral health care by leveraging innovative delivery models and technology, including KeyCare, its Epic-based clinical platform purpose-built for virtual care. This platform integrates physical and mental health, enables real time data sharing seamless care transitions, and ensures patients receive the right care at the right time in the right dose.
“Our journey started with the belief that telehealth isn’t a divergence from comprehensive treatment – it's a tool that enables more timely, effective care,” said Dr. Varrell. “Today that vision has evolved into a national solution, proving that innovative approaches can transform care delivery and improve patient outcomes.”
As Array looks to the future, the organization remains committed to addressing the nation’s growing behavioral health needs by advancing its integrated care model and tackling systemic fragmentation. “Array’s 25-year journey has been one of continuous evolution, focused on closing gaps in care and delivering impactful solutions,” said Shannon Werb, Chief Executive Officer of Array Behavioral Care. “As we enter the next phase, we will continue to enhance our model, ensuring every patient receives the personalized support they need.”
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation’s leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice, delivering high-quality behavioral health services through a fully integrated continuum of care from hospital to home. Array partners with hospitals, health systems, community organizations, and payors to provide timely, expert treatment that meets the needs of patients where they are with the right care at the right time and in the right dose. As an established leader with more than 25 years of experience in telepsychiatry, Array sets the standard for excellence by offering innovative solutions that improve access, enhance outcomes, and support seamless care delivery. Its partnership with KeyCare, the nation's first Epic EHR-based virtual care company, is eliminating system-wide gaps in mental health treatment. Learn more about how Array is transforming behavioral health at www.arraybc.com.
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Innovative partnership transforms behavioral health care by ensuring Array’s virtual providers have access to integrated physical and mental health history, streamlining data sharing and treatment coordination while improving efficiency, quality, and costs.
CHICAGO and MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., November 20, 2024 -- Array Behavioral Care, the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice providing quality mental health services across the continuum of care, and KeyCare, the nation's first Epic EHR-based virtual care company, today announced a partnership that will eliminate system-wide gaps in mental health treatment. By working within KeyCare’s Epic-based platform, Array’s tele-behavioral health providers can seamlessly coordinate care across hospital, community/outpatient, and home settings. Thus, healthcare providers can easily share patient data and get a comprehensive view of their combined physical and mental health that enhances treatment pathways while ensuring the most efficient and highest quality of care.
Partnering with KeyCare enables Array to streamline treatment across entire care teams so patients, regardless of the severity of their mental health conditions, receive treatment that is optimized to their individual needs. Additionally, by tracking patient progress and outcomes on a consistent platform, Array can better measure the success of their care and help prevent unnecessary escalations in treatment as a patient moves from high acuity (hospital or urgent care center) to low acuity (home) settings.
This type of coordinated care is critically important because behavioral and physical health are closely connected: 70% of patients with mental health disorders also have a medical co-morbidity, while 30% of adults with a physical condition also have a mental health disorder. However, physical and behavioral health care are often delivered separately and rarely coordinated across settings or clinicians, resulting in a 10-25 year shorter life expectancy for those suffering from severe mental health disorders. By ignoring the relationship between physical and mental health, the healthcare system negatively impacts patient wellbeing, increasing the risk of issues including strokes, impaired immune defenses, gut dysfunction, slow wound healing, and more.
"By partnering with KeyCare, we’ve created a first-of-its-kind nationwide solution to behavioral healthcare fragmentation, where all of a patient’s doctors have access to data so that they can deliver the right care at the right time and in the right dose,” said Shannon Werb, CEO of Array Behavioral Care. "With Array providing the expert clinicians and best practices, and KeyCare as the connective tissue, we’ll move behavioral health forward by integrating proprietary evidence-based care pathways that drive measurable improvements in patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance care quality."
"This Array and KeyCare collaboration allows care teams to better treat both routine and high acuity behavioral health patients by managing and measuring their progress across the spectrum," said Lyle Berkowitz, MD, CEO of KeyCare. "By having our teams serve as an extension of a health system's capabilities and resources, we will be able to manage patient care on a unified platform with insights from all care settings."
“Behavioral health has been siloed from physical health care for too long, creating a disjointed treatment experience that negatively affects outcomes and only gives providers a partial view of a patient’s overall health,” said Sara Gotheridge, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Array Behavioral Care. ”With KeyCare, Array has established a powerful platform for sharing medical history, safety plans, medication dosages, and other important patient information, empowering care teams with capabilities and data-backed insights that can — and will — change lives.”
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation’s leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice, delivering high-quality behavioral health services through a fully integrated continuum of care from hospital to home. Array partners with hospitals, health systems, community organizations, and payors to provide timely, expert treatment that meets the needs of patients where they are with the right care at the right time and in the right dose. As an established leader with more than 25 years of experience in telepsychiatry, Array sets the standard for excellence by offering innovative solutions that improve access, enhance outcomes, and support seamless care delivery. Its partnership with KeyCare, the nation's first Epic EHR-based virtual care company, is eliminating system-wide gaps in mental health treatment. Learn more about how Array is transforming behavioral health at www.arraybc.com.
About KeyCare
KeyCare connects health systems or other entities with a network of virtual care providers working on KeyCare's Epic-based EMR and telehealth platform. This allows for improved patient access in a coordinated manner, while also decreasing the burden on office-based providers. In addition to having Array’s behavioral health providers, KeyCare also supports nationwide virtual on-demand care coverage (24x7, 50-state coverage) and scheduled virtual primary care options. To learn more about KeyCare, visit www.keycare.org.
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(MOUNT LAUREL, NJ, November 6, 2024) – Array Behavioral Care has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Behavioral Care and Human Services Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
Array Behavioral Care underwent a rigorous onsite review from September 17-19, 2024. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with Behavioral Care and Human Services standards spanning several areas including leadership, emergency management, medication management, and performance improvement. During the accreditation process, Array was recognized for its unique ability to integrate technology into care delivery, ensuring that telehealth services are delivered seamlessly and safely.
The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
“As a healthcare accreditor, The Joint Commission works with healthcare organizations across care settings to inspire safer and higher quality of care that is more equitable and compassionate,” says Ken Grubbs, DNP, MBA, RN, executive vice president of Accreditation and Certification Operations and chief nursing officer, The Joint Commission. “Through collaborating on innovative solutions and evidence-based resources and tools, The Joint Commission helps drive improvement while maintaining accountability through our leading survey methods and standards. We commend Array Behavioral Care for its commitment to advance safety, quality, equity and compassion for all patients.”
Array Behavioral Care adopted an enterprise-wide approach to the accreditation process, engaging key personnel – designated as “Chapter Champions” – from various clinical and administrative departments to address the standards outlined in each chapter of The Joint Commission accreditation manual. This comprehensive effort, which involved an in-depth review of existing policies, processes, and a focused assessment of areas for improvement, underscores Array’s ongoing commitment to organization quality and excellence.
"Receiving accreditation from The Joint Commission is a great honor and a testament to our team's unwavering commitment to excellence–both within our organization and in the quality of care we provide to our patients," said Dr. Sara Gotheridge, Chief Medical Officer, Array Behavioral Care. "The Joint Commission’s transparency and partnership throughout the process highlighted our shared values and further equipped our teams with a lasting framework for upholding the highest standards in behavioral healthcare.”
For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.
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Array Behavioral Care is the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice. As the leading mental health provider, Array is on a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care through innovative telepsychiatry solutions and services that span the entire care continuum, from the hospital to the home. Array partners with an extensive network of hospitals, health systems, community healthcare organizations, and payors to improve access and deliver the highest quality of care to patients. As a pioneer in the field, Array sets the standard for excellence in telepsychiatry while actively shaping industry advancements and advocating for regulatory enhancements that support the evolving needs of patients and providers. Discover more about accessible, comprehensive behavioral health care at www.arraybc.com.
Media Contact
array@hermespr.co
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Breaking Down Barriers: Valley Health Improves Access to Behavioral Health Services in Emergency Departments
Having access to expert mental health services is a critical component of a person’s overall health. Yet many people living with mental illness face barriers, from access to appropriate care to the fear of experiencing prejudice or discrimination.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is estimated that one in five American adults is living with mental illness. “All too often, by the time a person experiencing a mental health issue arrives in our Emergency Department (ED), they are already at a crisis point,” explains Chris Parsons, clinical manager of the Emergency Department at War Memorial Hospital. “And when you live in a rural community like we do, it can be extremely challenging to provide patients with immediate access to highly trained psychiatric professionals.”
Providing quality behavioral health care when it is needed most is why Valley Health has partnered with Array Behavioral Care to provide on-demand telepsychiatry services in all six of its EDs. “Unfortunately, there aren’t enough psychiatric professionals to meet the growing demand, particularly in an emergency and especially in rural communities, which is why telepsychiatry is so invaluable,” says Karen Dorr, senior director of Behavioral Health Services at Valley Health. “We believe it is important to offer our patients face-to-face contact with a psychiatric professional 24/7.” [...]
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. and PONTIAC, Mich., June 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Array Behavioral Care, the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice providing quality mental health services across the continuum of care, and Common Ground, a comprehensive crisis service organization delivering mental health care across Michigan, today announced an innovative partnership that expands access to crisis care in Michigan. Array's telepsychiatrists will integrate with Common Ground's Oakland Assessment and Crisis Intervention Service (OACIS) to expedite care and improve patient outcomes. With Michigan lawmakers mandating crisis stabilization services, OACIS is one of 15 crisis stabilization pilot sites assisting the state in developing its guidelines.
America is currently experiencing a mental health crisis. Vulnerable populations including children surge into EDs seeking care for acute behavioral health issues because long wait lists for other treatment options leave patients or their caretakers with no other choice. Reliance on the ED for quick care leads to overcrowding and delayed treatment, worsening outcomes.
Many mental health patients receive more appropriate care in community settings, leading to improved recovery times and overall well-being. To better treat those with mental illness in their own neighborhoods and connect people to the most appropriate care, forward-thinking organizations are launching innovative initiatives across the country to solve the crisis. Crisis stabilization services operate at the forefront of these efforts, treating people experiencing urgent mental health issues using nimble community-based teams.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) included Common Ground in its mental health crisis stabilization pilot cohort to help inform guidelines for a statewide crisis services system. With the OACIS pilot program, Common Ground aims to obtain Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) certification in the fall of 2024. The program will treat mental health patients in the most suitable environment based on their individual needs. CSUs are short-term alternatives to EDs and psychiatric inpatient admissions, designed for people who can be stabilized through treatment and recovery coaching within 72 hours.
Offering short-term and recovery-oriented psychiatric care as an alternative to inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, the OACIS pilot site includes medication management and monitoring, peer support, group therapy, nursing, coordination with family and other providers, and discharge planning. Array will support Common Ground with Michigan-licensed telepsychiatrists selected and trained for crisis services in behavioral health, providing thorough evaluations and reliable treatment for people experiencing a mental health emergency.
"Our relationship with Array's psychiatrists is important to us. Common Ground needs on-demand access to psychiatric care where the psychiatrists are an extension of our team and respond quickly to the needs of people in crisis. When we have times of high volume, we need access to multiple psychiatrists at the same time, which we could not have managed without Array," said Heather Rae, President & CEO of Common Ground.
The OACIS pilot site will combine Array's OnDemand telepsychiatry services, which provide as-needed assessments, care, and consultations to rapidly determine the appropriate treatment for those in psychiatric crisis, with Common Ground's specialization in crisis care, giving patients the best support possible based on their risk and disposition. The partnership also prevents patients from entering higher levels of care than necessary and keeps patients safe after they leave with detailed discharge plans.
"As one of the country's most innovative community health organizations, Common Ground is changing the way mental health treatment is delivered in our communities by evolving crisis care pathways," said Shannon Werb, CEO of Array Behavioral Care. "With Array's licensed psychiatrists supporting the OACIS crisis stabilization services pilot site, our team's capabilities are making a real impact in the lives of Michiganders with mental health issues, as well as their families and neighbors."
Array and Common Ground both have long histories of innovation in behavioral health care. The Array team was an early champion of virtual mental health treatment and has provided telepsychiatry care for 25 years. Common Ground has operated in Michigan since 1971, and has evolved to provide crucial services including crisis intervention, virtual behavioral health urgent care, mobile crisis teams, facility-based crisis services, and more.
About Common Ground
Common Ground is a nonprofit organization that has served as an expert in behavioral health and crisis intervention since 1971. Through its comprehensive crisis continuum, Common Ground uses a trauma-informed approach to provide professional, compassionate services to over 165,000 people annually. "Helping people in crisis 24/7 is at the heart of everything we do." For more information, visit www.CommonGroundHelps.org.
If you or a loved one is experiencing a mental health emergency, call or text 988. To access Common Ground's crisis services in Oakland County, Michigan call our Resource and Crisis Hub at 800-231-1127.
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation's leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice. As the leading mental health provider, Array is on a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care through innovative telepsychiatry solutions and services that span the entire care continuum, from the hospital to the home. Array partners with an extensive network of hospitals, health systems, community healthcare organizations, and payors to improve access and deliver the highest quality of care to patients. As a pioneer in the field, Array sets the standard for excellence in telepsychiatry while actively shaping industry advancements and advocating for regulatory enhancements that support the evolving needs of patients and providers. Discover more about accessible, comprehensive behavioral health care at www.arraybc.com.
Virtual psychiatry and therapy provider hires two experienced leaders in COO Christy Kisner and CIO Patrick Williamson to continue driving innovation across telehealth operations and technology on a national scale
Mount Laurel, N.J., April 9, 2024 — Array Behavioral Care, the nation’s leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice providing quality mental health services across the continuum of care, today announced two new additions to its C-suite: Chief Operating Officer (COO) Christy Kisner and Chief Information Officer (CIO) Patrick Williamson. Kisner and Williamson have decades of experience scaling national clinical services. They join an Array leadership team committed to enhancing the clinician experience and improving patient mental health outcomes across settings ranging from the hospital to the home.
Americans are in the middle of a mental health crisis and a loneliness epidemic. Suicides are on the rise, and 1 in 20 adults experience serious mental illness. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of psychiatrists and mental health care providers across the United States, making it difficult for Americans experiencing mental health issues to access the crucial care they need. These provider shortages are particularly acute in rural areas; 65% of rural counties do not have a single psychiatrist, making virtual mental health appointments an increasingly vital option for individuals living in these underserved regions.
As COO, Kisner will focus on growing Array’s national service delivery capabilities, leading the integration of its offerings with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sara Gotheridge, and working with Williamson to implement and scale technology that benefits both clinicians and patients. Prior to joining Array, Kisner was the Pof SpecialtyCare’s Neuro Services Service Line, where she oversaw one of its fastest-growing divisions. After starting her career as a clinical neurophysiologist, she transitioned to the business side of healthcare where she has spent the past 23 years growing, scaling, and operating companies in the entrepreneurial and private equity spaces.
Williamson will lead Array’s technology strategy as CIO, where he will oversee systems, networking, and security. He has two decades of experience leading healthcare IT teams at national organizations, with a specific focus on telehealth. Before joining Array, Williamson was Vice President of Client Operations at Netgain Technology, where he provided managed cloud and IT solutions to healthcare, legal, and accounting businesses. He has also directed IT strategy at women’s and children’s care provider MEDNAX and teleradiology practice vRad.
“Array sets a high standard for clinical excellence, and we’re always striving to improve our patient and clinician experience through technological and operational innovation,” said Shannon Werb, CEO of Array Behavioral Care. “With Christy and Patrick, we’ll be able to make hiring and onboarding new clinicians even more seamless, while continuing to deliver quality care to patients wherever they are, including hospitals, homes, or community-based settings.”
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation’s leading virtual psychiatry and therapy practice. As the leading mental health provider, Array is on a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care through innovative telepsychiatry solutions and services that span the entire care continuum, from the hospital to the home. Array partners with an extensive network of hospitals, health systems, community healthcare organizations, and payors to improve access and deliver the highest quality of care to patients. As a pioneer in the field, Array sets the standard for excellence in telepsychiatry while actively shaping industry advancements and advocating for regulatory enhancements that support the evolving needs of patients and providers. Discover more about accessible, comprehensive behavioral health care at www.arraybc.com.
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Mount Laurel, New Jersey -Array Behavioral Care is proud to be Certified™ by Great Place To Work® for the second year in a row. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at Array. This year, 89% of employees said it’s a great place To Work – 32 points higher than the average mid-sized U.S. company.
Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation.
"Great Place To Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience," says Sarah Lewis-Kulin, the Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place To Work. She emphasizes that Certification is the sole official recognition earned by the real-time feedback of employees regarding their company culture. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Array stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees."
“I couldn’t be prouder of our organization and this recognition, based on the feedback of our amazing team members,” shares Shannon Werb, Chief Executive Officer at Array Behavioral Care. “The need for our services is ever-increasing, countless patients rely on us to provide timely and effective behavioral care in a setting of their choice. Our mission of increasing access to care starts with our great clinicians, who are supported by our administrative team members, enabling them to practice at the top of their license delivering excellent care to our patients. "
This year, Array has received multiple awards, including “Top Places to Work” by Ragan Communications, a Silver Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health by Mental Health America, and a Fortune Best Workplaces in Healthcare.
As a mental health organization, Array prioritizes a healthy workplace culture, providing resources through our Employee Assistance Program, mental health self-care, volunteer activities, professional development, a dynamic corporate wellness program with Peloton®, and a robust rewards and recognition program with Nectar. Through various employee-led Affinity groups, we celebrate our unique and dynamic culturally diverse team, highlighting and planning activities around various nationally recognized campaigns such as Minority Mental Health Month, Pride Month and Hispanic Heritage month, to name a few.
Looking to grow your career at a company that puts its people first? Visit our careers page at: /about/careers
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Array Behavioral Care is the nation's leading clinician-centric virtual psychiatry and therapy practice with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its three flexible delivery models. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community health care organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities, and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.
Great Place To Work® Certification™ is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place To Work-Certified.
As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work® brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All™ Model helps companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified™ or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces™ List.
Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
September 11, 2023
The Honorable Anne Milgram
Administrator
United States Drug Enforcement Administration
800 K Street NW Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20001
Dear Administrator Milgram:
Thank you for your willingness to further listen and meet with stakeholders, specifically medical practitioners, on the proposed rules for prescribing controlled substances via telehealth. We, the undersigned, collectively employ approximately 1,600 mental health professionals and treat over one million patients annually. As the largest organizations working in telepsychiatry, we have extensive expertise in the practice of medicine through telehealth, and are committed to responsibly continuing and expanding access to mental health services for patients beyond the traditional in-person office-based model.
We understand the DEA’s difficult job in balancing access to care with diversion prevention. To that end, we will be using our time at the listening session to propose a Special Registration process that will accomplish our collective goal of legitimate and safe prescribing without compromising access to needed care for millions of Americans. The following pages outline our recommendations for this Special Registration process.
Thank you for your consideration of what we believe to be a path forward that will allow the DEA to maintain important controls on prescribing, while ensuring practitioners can continue to offer crucial patient care.
Sincerely,
Talkiatry
Quartet Health / innovaTel Telepsychiatry
Array Behavioral Care
Iris Telehealth
Overview
Under the proposed rules for telemedicine issued on March 1, 2023[1], many Americans who rely on telemedicine services will lose access to mental health, substance use disorder, and other healthcare services. To prevent this, we recommend the DEA enact a Special Registration for telemedicine to allow the safe prescribing of controlled substances through telemedicine while preventing diversion. This Special Registration will be in addition to the proposed rule that allows for prescribing via telemedicine after a qualified referral from an in-person provider. Under our proposal, the DEA will issue two registration licenses: 1) the commonly known DEA Registration, and 2) a new Special Registration.
The 1) DEA Registration will continue to exist for providers prescribing Schedule II-V medications in the circumstances allowed under the current[2] and proposed1 rule, including the following circumstances:
The 2) Special Registration will apply to providers prescribing Schedule IIN non-narcotic, III, IV and V medications ONLY when a provider has not treated a patient in-person nor has a referring provider treated a patient in-person.
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Special Registration |
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Focus of this document |
Special Registration Details
Proposed Guardrails for the Special Registration
The following guardrails would minimize diversion without materially restricting access. To avoid creating undue administrative burden, we have broken these out into two categories:
| Category | Guardrail | Rationale |
| 1. Guardrails that apply to all providers prescribing Schedule II-V controlled substances, with no exemptions | ||
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| Category | Guardrail | Rationale |
| 2. Guardrails that apply to all providers prescribing Schedule II-V controlled substances, with exemptions for a) providers practicing at not-for-profit organizations or hospitals (both for- and not-for-profit) and b) prescriptions of buprenorphine | ||
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[1] 88 FR 12875; 88 FR 12890; Telemedicine Encounter Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Rules for Controlled Substances (March 1, 2023)
[2] Exceptions to the Ryan Haight Act are: 1) treatment in a hospital or clinic; 2) treatment in the physical presence of a DEA-registered practitioner; 3) treatment by Indian Health Service or Tribal practitioners; 4) treatment during a public health emergency as declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; 5) treatment by a practitioner who has obtained a “special registration”; 6) treatment by Department of Veterans Affairs practitioners during a medical emergency; and 7) other circumstances specified by regulation. See 21 C.F.R. § 1300.04(i)(1)-(7).
New Talent will Accelerate the Nation’s Leading Virtual Psychiatry and Therapy Provider in Growing and Diversifying its Services, Technology, and Operations Across Care Continuum
MOUNT LAUREL, NJ – Sept. 6, 2023 — Array Behavioral Care, the nation’s leading clinician-centric virtual psychiatry and therapy practice, announced three executive leadership hires: Shannon Werb, Chief Executive Officer; Sara Gotheridge, MD, Chief Medical Officer; and Ben Schlang, Chief Financial Officer. These new leaders will support the execution of broader company-wide initiatives and investments across technology, operations, and teams to expand the breadth and depth of Array’s telebehavioral services across the care continuum.
Demand for mental health care remains high in acute care and community outpatient settings, where capacity is significantly constrained. Less than one-third of all mental health needs are being met nationwide, according to research conducted by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Virtual psychiatry and therapy enable more patients to receive care directly from clinicians across all settings. Array pioneered this industry, with Array Co-founder Dr. Jim Varrell performing one of the industry’s first telepsychiatry encounters in 1999. Today more than 90 million Americans in all 50 states can access Array’s timely, quality behavioral health care services in hospitals, community clinics, primary care offices, and at home. Array has delivered nearly four million virtual encounters to date.
“At Array, we speak about our ability to diversify and scale effectively, not only as strategic and operational business imperatives, but importantly, as a fundamental responsibility in fulfilling commitments to our customers and the patients we serve—we’re mission-bound to meet our nation’s ever-increasing demand for behavioral care,” said Glenn Cole, Array’s Board Chairman. “The Board is grateful for all that Array’s executive team has done in establishing Array as the industry leader, and is thrilled that founders Jim Varrell and Geoffrey Boyce will continue to work alongside Shannon, Sara, Ben and other Array leaders to develop and execute a shared vision and strategy to more effectively address mental health needs across the country.”
Werb, Gotheridge, and Schlang bring substantial healthcare experience, and proven success in their respective domains, including business strategy and operations, clinical, and financial. Werb has more than 25 years of experience as a healthcare executive and driver of value creation in the provider and related healthcare technology industries. Previously, he served as COO at DispatchHealth, where he played a key role in diversifying the company’s capabilities to multiple service lines, while scaling delivery across more than 40 states. Prior to that, Werb was president and COO of vRad, a global telemedicine company and the nation’s largest radiology practice.
Array is poised to accelerate its pace of scale in new and existing markets through enhanced service offerings and operations, innovative technology, and expansion of the practice team. Array’s unique service delivery models will deliver timely and high-quality care across the continuum, regardless of setting, and continued investment in Array’s leadership will drive more comprehensive solutions to Array’s hospital and payor partners. Amid growing national concern for mental health, timely intervention is valuable and appropriate follow-up care is critical. Array is investing in both.
“We’re at a critical inflection point for telehealth—we’ve experienced wide-scale adoption and efficacy, and we must ensure we maintain that commitment in order to best meet the nation’s mental health care needs,” said Werb. “It’s an honor to lead an industry innovator and build on our legacy as a great place for clinicians to practice care and for patients to receive care.”
Along with Werb, Array welcomes Gotheridge to oversee Array’s clinical team and quality program, and Schlang to manage the company’s financial operations. In addition to growing multiple practices throughout her 25-year career, Gotheridge is an experienced CMO within community mental health and has unique expertise in integrated care. She will oversee all clinical services, maintain active clinical practice, and partner closely with Array’s operations team to ensure that the highest quality of care is delivered to patients in a scalable and sustainable way. Schlang brings more than a decade of private equity experience in healthcare investment and finance and has been actively involved with Array for nearly six years as a member of one of Array’s institutional investors, Harbour Point Capital.
“We built the foundations for Array more than 20 years ago because we knew that virtual care offered patients in critical need access to the right care at the right time,” said Geoffrey Boyce, Array’s Founder. “Now more than ever, we see the importance of our mission and recognize the need to grow our organization to meet patients’ increasing mental health care needs. With these new leaders, Array is poised to maximize the expertise of our exceptional clinicians and enhance our offerings and delivery at an accelerated pace.”
In January 2023, Array completed a Series C capital raise led by CVS Health to further scale Array’s modern behavioral care services across the continuum. Array’s clinical, operational, administrative, and technical specialists enable its to clinicians operate at the top of their licenses, integrate with care teams, and similarly practice as they would if they were physically present with the patient. Array was named a Fortune 2023 Best Workplaces in Healthcare, following last year’s receipt of Great Place to Work® certification.
About Array Behavioral Care
Array Behavioral Care is the nation's leading clinician-centric virtual psychiatry and therapy practice with a mission to transform access to quality, timely behavioral health care. Array offers telepsychiatry solutions and services across the continuum of care, from hospital to home, through its three flexible delivery models. For more than 20 years, Array has partnered with hundreds of hospitals and health systems, community health care organizations and payers of all sizes to expand access to care and improve outcomes for underserved individuals, facilities, and communities. As an industry pioneer and established thought leader, Array has helped shape the field, define the standard of care and advocate for improved telepsychiatry-friendly regulations. To learn more, visit www.arraybc.com.
