Let’s Get Real: Real World Evidence in Mental Health

This post was originally published on the Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech blog on March 10, 2022. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for a lot more behavioral health tech content.

What exactly is real-world evidence and why is it important? 

The FDA explains real-world evidence as “the clinical evidence regarding the usage and potential benefits or risks of a medical product derived from analysis of RWD. RWE can be generated by different study designs or analyses, including but not limited to, randomized trials, including large simple trials, pragmatic trials, and observational studies (prospective and/or retrospective).”

While many a mental health or chronic disease startup can generate conclusions about their solutions in a clinical trial, but evidence gained out in the harsh real world can provide a true picture of a clinical intervention’s impact on people’s lives day to day.  

This week, Holmusk's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Scott Kollins, shares more about Holmusk’s approach to leveraging data to transform mental health care measurement, delivery and quality: 

How do data and analytics from Holmusk's platform enhance research?

Holmusk is building the world's largest real-world evidence platform, starting with behavioral health. There is a critical need for better evidence in this space, where measurements and assessments are often subjective. Holmusk provides a range of digital solutions to help generate evidence in studies examining a range of behavioral health conditions, including major depressive disorder, opioid use disorder, schizophrenia, and ADHD. 

Our NeuroBlu Research platform enables pharmaceutical companies to build cohorts from a database that contains more than 20 years of data on over 1,000,000 patients, as well as perform advanced analytics to generate new insights about these patients. NeuroBlu Research has been used for applications ranging from developing new understanding about how to treat young children with ADHD to building a predictive model to ascertain which patients are most likely to stop treatment for opioid use disorder.

How does Holmusk's work improve clinical care?

One of the data sources that feeds our continuously growing behavioral health database is our MindLinc EHR. We have designed MindLinc specifically for behavioral health settings, aimed at providing real-time analytics to behavioral health providers and their clinics and creating stronger, clinically meaningful ways of increasing engagement between patients and their providers. MindLinc's unique emphasis on high-quality data capture not only fuels stronger research, but it also enables evidence-informed care that leads to improved outcomes across the behavioral health ecosystem.

MindLinc's unique emphasis on high-quality data capture not only fuels stronger research, but it also enables evidence-informed care that leads to improved outcomes across the behavioral health ecosystem.

You've recently closed a deal with US-based Metrocare Services. Tell us more!

We recently entered into a collaboration with Metrocare Services, the largest provider of mental health and developmental disability services in North Texas. The agreement will play an important role in advancing both behavioral health research and value-based care by enhancing Holmusk's RWE platform through secured, de-identified AI-powered analytic models that help drive improved clinical outcomes. In addition, Metrocare will have access to Holmusk's data analytics tools to provide insights that will improve delivery of care within its health system.