HOPE MATTERS Newsletter

A Message From Our CMO

by Mark Mintz, MD
Chief Medical Officer and Founder of NeurAbilities Healthcare

NeurAbilities Healthcare was established in 2005 with a vision and mission for creating a better health care delivery system for patients and families struggling with neurological, neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric diseases and disorders. Our goal was to design an innovative medical home model that drives quality outcomes. The patient- and family-centered “Specialty Care Medical Home®” (SCMH) was created, and we have been fine-tuning and improving our clinical model ever since. We have encountered many challenges along our shared journey with the patients and families that we serve. Nevertheless, our exponential growth over the years despite these trials and tribulations has been a testament to the value of our SCMH.

Thus, it was with great interest that I encountered a recent academic publication that has validated our original vision. [Frechter et al. 2022] These authors emphasize the need for new and innovative health care delivery models that are cost effective and optimize quality of life for children and families with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). They describe that a comprehensive model of care should be consistent with a patient-centered medical home framework, offering comprehensive clinical and therapeutic services, can collaborate with school systems and other involved entities, be able to provide continuity of services from pediatric to adult ages, have accessibility and interdisciplinary collaboration and coordination, and deliver overall high-quality care. In essence, what NeurAbilities Healthcare and our SCMH health care delivery model have been providing for many years.

As you may know, we have been embarking on expanding and refining our data collection and analysis. We are looking forward to transforming our relationship with payors to “value-based care”: reimbursement for services based on quality performance and outcomes for this very fragile population. From our original mission for providing innovative health care delivery systems for special needs populations, to the creation and implementation of the SCMH, it is gratifying that we are seeing validation of our efforts and vision. As we continue on this shared journey, the future is filled with hope and joy toward our mission to to transform the lives of patients through precision medicine, behavior sciences, and therapeutic treatments with compassion, dignity, and respect. 

Frechter Y, Demirsoy I, Cameron MJ, Wirtjes P: Toward a value-based care model for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Open Access Journal of Behavioural Science & Psychology 2022, 5(1): 180065