Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham set the goal of expanding new patient access in excess of 5%. In fiscal year 2025, the system delivered more than 23,000 new patient visits, representing a roughly 10% to 11% increase translating to about 90 new patients gaining access every working day.
Bernard Jones, vice president for behavioral and mental health and the Department of Psychiatry for the system, told Becker’s how the system leveraged goal-setting, workforce growth, operational redesign and telehealth to help drive the expansion.
Set clear goals
The first step was to set an organizational goal, communicate it and align efforts to achieve it.
“It sounds simple, and I bet we would have grown new patient access without setting the goal,” Mr. Jones said. “But I think we actually hit our mark, in part because everyone was so focused on it as one of our North Star metrics for the year.”
Grow the workforce strategically
The system expanded its workforce capacity by investing in training and education programs. Mr. Jones said the goal is to strike a balance between creating a desirable academic environment and one where clinicians want to practice.
“It’s the way that we compensate them, and it’s the way in which we balance their autonomy while providing them with the support that is necessary to be successful,” Mr. Jones said.
Streamline patient intake
Mass General Brigham also closely examined the point of entry for behavioral health patients to ensure patients were routed to the appropriate level of care.
Patients who enter through the wrong level can complicate the system’s ability to onboard new patients, according to Mr. Jones.
Technology is being used to optimize the “front door” process, helping to prepare patients and providers before the visit. The aim is to ensure patients are entering care closer to a solution than to the beginning of their care journey.
Leverage telehealth
Telehealth has played a key role in expanding behavioral health access. Mr. Jones said it offers flexibility for both patients and providers.
“We were scared, and we continue to be scared about the telehealth cliff, and what that means for our ability to care for Medicare and Medicaid patients in a consistent fashion,” he said. “But I continue to see a huge amount of promise for virtual care, and particularly how valuable that is to behavioral health.”
Maximize clinical hours
Lastly, the system has focused on being intentional with clinical hours. Mr. Jones said the team evaluated how much time was spent with each new patient to make the best use of available time.
[It’s] the balance of, how do we spend enough time with our patients meaningfully without not spending so much time that we preclude seeing another patient?” Mr. Jones said.
