How SimpliFed can help with the increasing prevalence of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders impact on health systems 

Nearly 20% or 1 in 5 women are diagnosed with some form of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD), but the level of screening varies among populations. In underserved communities only 17% of women are consistently screened, meaning the actual number of women and families suffering could be far higher. Even for those who do receive a diagnosis, 50% do not receive treatment. 

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Undiagnosed and untreated PMAD can lead to a myriad of health issues for families, affecting parental bonding, the ability to breastfeed, infant developmental delays and so much more. In fact, Postpartum Support International recently listed suicide as one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. This alone is reason to find ways to increase early detection. 

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Additionally, the increasing prevalence of PMAD in patients also causes a financial strain on health systems–reportedly insurer-paid expenditures were $1,619 higher for each woman with untreated PMAD. Untreated PMAD jeopardizes childrens’ health, too, increasing emergency department visits by children aged 5 years and younger and resulting in $197 million in societal costs. In general, mental health disorders increase the cost of delivery by almost $5,000. . This is only compounded by provider burden and the need to see more patients, more regularly to diagnose and support so many families in need.

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What can SimpliFed do to help 

There are varying recommendations from ACOG, American Academy of Pediatrics and others, on how and when to perform mental health screenings and not every health system follows the same method.  Traditional screening in that setting is dependent on the patient actually getting to their appointment, which we know isn’t happening. 

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What makes SimpliFed’s method unique is we’ve taken every different recommendation –from once during pregnancy and once postpartum, to every month at pediatric visits– into account and decided to screen our patients prior to every appointment. We do this for many reasons: 

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• Having in-the-moment readings helps our providers make better decisions, treatment plans and more
• We know PMAD actually encompasses a series of different disorders that can begin during pregnancy and continue throughout the first year
• Our virtual anywhere, anytime care enables access and adoption
• Our longitudinal model means patients trust us and often speak up more easily

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Our methods

Our patients are asked to take PQH9 or Edinburgh screenings 24 hours before a scheduled appointment with our providers. We do this because peak diagnosis for many of these disorders vary over several months, and do not nicely fit within a typical 6-week postpartum check in. See table below. 

Our providers are able to use readings to lead in-the-moment conversations with our patients, while the consistency of screening captures the change and fluctuation in our patients' moods and mental health throughout their journey. Helping us predict, support, treat and escalate much more quickly and efficiently. 

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Some key milestones that our team is automatically connecting with patients: 

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Prenatal appointments

Anxiety can be debilitating when preparing for a newborn. Our team meets with patients often twice before delivery to help prepare for their big day, and discuss mom’s mental and physical health.

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A few days to weeks postpartum 

‍Baby blues, OCD, panic disorder and more can be very apparent in those first days and weeks, but can be hard for families to distinguish from the exhaustion. Our model gives us a window into mom’s mental health and the ability to check in when she is not likely to check in on herself.

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Transitions

Postpartum depression is often diagnosed from birth up to 3 months, but can be diagnosed later if symptoms started earlier and went untreated. Our team supports our families through big milestones like returning to work, introducing different foods, sleep regressions and so much more. Being the go-to for these patients means we have insight on how they are dealing with them.

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Conclusion 

Our longitudinal model of consistent touchpoints is yielding a 40% PQH9 completion rate. Nearly double the industry standard. And this is by design. Because PMAD isn’t a one and done diagnosis. There is a rolling scale of treatments that often change through transitions. 

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As SimpliFed continues to evolve our presence in this space we see the growing need to screen, support and diagnose much earlier than our traditional care pathway is set up to do. With consistent screening models that can predict rising risk patients, combined with our effective multi-touchpoint care, we can and are changing outcomes for our partners and clients.