Case Study: Improving Patient Experience and Increasing Clinical Value

Partnership Overview

Kintsugi partnered with Dreavita, a highly regarded mental health practice, to improve the success rate of screening patients for depression which was limiting their ability to administer appropriate clinical care. Historically, like many practices nationally, Dreavita experienced low compliance rates for patient completion of standard assessments like the PHQ-9. With the introduction of Kintsugi, Dreavita successfully screened 96% of patients with a 100% agreement rate to the therapist’s clinical judgment, gaining $5,412 in new revenue opportunities per month.

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Challenge

Mental health is a vital component of overall well-being, yet patients regularly face significant barriers to reliable mental health screening and accessing quality mental health services. Dreavita aims to address this gap by providing virtual counseling, coaching, and consulting services.

The identification and treatment of mental health conditions, like depression and anxiety, is highly dependent on patient self-administered assessments, for example the PHQ-9. Historically, Dreavita experienced low compliance with patient completion of the PHQ-9, which posed a major hurdle in identifying at-risk patients and providing proactive counseling services.

Dreavita’s existing process had a low patient compliance rate of 30%, requiring care coordinators to spend 20 minutes per patient on follow-ups. This effort only led to a modest 20% improvement in compliance.

To address the remaining 50% of non-compliant patients, clinicians conduct the assessment in real-time, extending the visit length. Completing the PHQ-9 assessment typically takes 10 minutes, costing clinicians valuable time with their patients and reducing their revenue.

In a sample of 100 patients, this inefficiency added up to 1,900 minutes, limiting the practice’s capacity for more patient visits.

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Dreavita identified that the leading causes of the low compliance rate were:

- Documentation burden

- Forgetfulness

- Friction from the time commitment required to complete the assessment

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Solution: Kintsugi Voice

Kintsugi’s API is easy to integrate with any virtual platform.  The Kintsugi team worked with Dreavita and their tech stack, Healthie (EHR) and Zoom (virtual care platform), to minimize both the time and client manpower required to add Kintsugi’s API. The Kintsugi Voice API was integrated into Zoom to collect audio samples from the consultation session and return depression analysis to the provider in real-time. The Kintsugi Voice API was integrated into Healthie to allow seamless documentation into the patient’s health record.  The integration workflow allowed for minimal interruption to their existing workflow, ensuring seamless functionality and compatibility.

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Kintsugi’s simple, highly intuitive severity output combined with a turnkey rapid clinician training program meant seamless clinical integration.  Care providers were trained on the integrated workflow and the interpretation of voice biomarker data. It takes no more than 20 minutes of clinical training per clinician to fully explain use and value of the Kintsugi tool.  With a single training session, the Dreavita clinical care team was up to speed and fully capable of utilizing Kintsugi, causing no disruption to the clinicians’ work day.

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Results

Enhanced Patient Experience‍

In the first 6 weeks of operation, 96% of Dreavita patients opted to use the Kintsugi technology to help assess and stratify their depression level, a significant improvement over historic compliance rates.  Patients specifically noted high satisfaction from the Kintsugi technology’s ability to reduce friction from passive audio collection and a preference for voice analysis over the PHQ-9 assessment.  

The rapid, real-time assessment also allowed for a more productive clinical encounter, and 100% of patients noted increased engagement and satisfaction with their care.

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“The frequency and consistency of patient screenings have improved notably. The API ensures that every patient undergoes the same rigorous screening process, which has standardized our assessments and reduced variability.”

Andrea Piazza, Founder & Owner of Dreavita, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

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Care Provider Satisfaction

Care providers reported 100% satisfaction with the ease of use and the value added by voice biomarker analysis in patient care.  All Dreavita care providers found the Kintsugi tool eased their workflow and created care efficiencies by simplifying and improving their ability to assess and address patient mental wellness.  

The integration of the Kintsugi Voice API into Dreavita represents a significant advancement, enabling the detection of depression levels through voice analysis and improving the compliance rates for mental health assessments.

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“Our care providers have found the Kintsugi Voice API to be user-friendly and easy to integrate into their daily workflow. The straightforward interface and seamless integration with our systems have made it a valuable tool that enhances their ability to conduct assessments efficiently.”

Andrea Piazza, Founder & Owner of Dreavita, Licensed Mental Health Counselor

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Cost Savings

Is Kintsugi Right for Your Practice?

The challenge of effectively screening patients for depression is not unique to Dreavita. Nationwide, Practices experience low completion rates for the PHQ-9 assessment, which severely limits providers' ability to accurately identify at-risk patients and offer proactive care, ultimately leading to costly episodes of more severe conditions.

The integration of Kintsugi's Voice API by Dreavita marks a significant advancement in the connection between technology and mental health care. Both clinical partners and patients have embraced this technology, recognizing its potential to enhance mental health assessments and interventions.

Kintsugi is already integrated into major platforms such as Zoom and Healthie, making it a resource-efficient and timely solution for new partners to quickly implement screening services.

If you are interested in adding voice biomarker analysis to improve your care services and patient experience while addressing their mental health needs, get in touch with us today.

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