Cost Advantage of Single-Source EAP/Managed Behavioral Health

Why use the same organization for EAP and Managed Behavioral Health benefits management?

There are many EAP-only organizations in the marketplace, and they fulfill their mission admirably; however, EAP-oriented services are only half the battle when it comes to improving worker productivity, protecting their mental and physical health, and controlling health care costs. It comes down to capabilities and expertise.

1. Using the same organization for EAP and MBH gives customers and members benefits that only economies of scale can provide. It’s a frequent mantra of smaller companies: ‘We want quality, not quantity.’ But quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive. In fact, quantity has a quality all its own: a wider array of programs (EAP, Work/Life, behavioral, and disease management) that meet the workforce needs of the employer, as well as treating the whole spectrum of a member’s mental and physical health, a large, accredited provider network, and URAC and NCQA accreditations.
2. Seamless transitioning from EAP to behavioral health professionals. At CBH we train our entire EAP staff to be able to recognize underlying catalysts for what may seem strictly EAP-related needs. For example, if a plan member calls for help in handling stress at home or work, the staff member fielding the initial call is trained to tactfully probe for any other information that may indicate signs of depression, domestic abuse, financial problems, or other issues that may underlie that stress. This method of seamless EAP-MBH coordination increases the chances for early intervention, greater treatment compliance, and improved outcomes.
3. Medical-behavioral-pharmaceutical integration: the right hand always knows what the left hand is doing. Always. Integration is key, and collaboration is essential in health care today. It’s an accepted school of thought that the mind and body interact with one another in ways that both astound and often confound even the brightest minds in health care. Undeniably mental conditions – including depression, panic disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder – also have an undeniable impact on the physical health of the person with that illness. Integrated care, where there is a single treatment plan that combines behavioral, medical, and frequently pharmaceutical elements, rather than separate plans for each of these elements, has found to deliver the best hope for optimal outcomes. This also improves the chances of appropriate diagnosis, treatment and prescription drug recommendations, and patient compliance with the treatment program. If these three components (medical, behavioral, and pharmaceutical) are unable to coordinate their respective roles in the treatment of a patient – from the first visit through recovery – not only is an optimal outcome for the patient endangered, but incorrect diagnoses, incomplete treatment recommendations, and failure of the patient to comply with the treatment plan all have a detrimental effect on an organizations productivity, health care expenditures, and overall workforce health.
4. Disease management integrated with pharmaceutical management is an essential capability. Given the effect that drugs can have on chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, it makes sense to promote their use, based on clinically sound treatment medical and behavioral treatment plans. Indeed, the appropriate use of medications can reduce productivity losses for some of the most common and expensive health conditions, as described in "Pharmaceuticals and Worker Productivity Loss: A Critical Review of Literature," published in the June 2003 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Benefit designs that include disease management and encourages employees to take the appropriate medication and adhere to their treatment plan will ultimately save on long-term health care costs and improve an organization’s productivity.