Behind every innovation lies a personal story that fuels the passion for change.
For evolvedMD Co-CEO Erik Osland and Rovicare Co-Founder Pankaj (PJ) Likhmania, this passion stems from the frustration of what millions of Americans face every day: a broken healthcare system. Experiences marked by loss, resilience, and determination, Osland’s chronically ill father and Likhmania’s youngest daughter propelled the two dynamic leaders to disrupt the status quo and reshape healthcare as we know it.
First, separately, and now as strategic partners, evolvedMD and Rovicare have seen firsthand the power of collaboration during America’s unprecedented mental health crisis. The industry titans joined forces on a live webinar to expand on their impactful partnership and spark hope for healthcare leaders eager to close the care gap and drive improved clinical outcomes for their patients.
Four key themes emerged from the illuminating discussion:
The alarming rise in prevalence and acuity of mental illness have left community providers strapped for resources. Consequently, access to high-quality mental health care has suffered, leaving patients feeling hopeless—some even giving up. “It’s not a rosy picture,” remarked Likhmania. “As a country, we should be in a much better state.”
Osland emphasized bringing behavioral health services onsite and in person at modern primary care practices. Likhmania highlighted the pivotal role of technology to further eliminate care gaps and enhance care coordination. In partnership, both solutions are breaking down the barriers affecting our communities and fostering positive change.
Since his chronically ill father’s passing, Osland’s vision for evolvedMD has revolved around seamlessly addressing mild-to-moderate physical and mental health symptoms where people are most comfortable – at the primary care practice they trust. But what about patients with more unique needs? Community resource referrals round out the collaborative care process, but along the way, evolvedMD identified a key inefficiency: organizing and managing the referral process itself in spreadsheets.
evolvedMD traded in spreadsheets for a more robust, comprehensive solution: Rovicare’s leading care management technology. Likhmania, a fervent technology advocate who’s leveraged tech throughout his career to solve some of healthcare’s most pressing challenges, spoke to how Rovicare’s platform enhances evolvedMD’s integrated care solution:
“Through our partnership, patients with acute needs now have access to psych med management in days rather than eight-to-12 weeks,” said Osland.
With stirring urgency, both leaders shared similar sentiments: we must upend the status quo.
“The system we’ve built is broken. It’s not designed to meet the needs of patients and their families. We’re spending a lot of energy to get a suboptimal outcome. There is an obligation to understand that traditional care simply isn’t working,” said Osland.
Likhmania doubled down, saying, “If you don’t challenge the status quo, that is a problem. Take the initiative to change the way things are,” also noting that intention, or lack thereof, is a clear gap in accelerating change.
With the proper mindset, punctuated by urgency, commitment, and intention, we can continue moving the needle forward so more people get the help they desperately need.
Lived experiences of positive change often make the best stories.
Osland shared the story of one patient in the Valley struggling with depression and an ongoing housing issue. The power of integrated care and technology not only significantly reduced their symptoms but also helped the patient get legal support to acquire definitive housing. He also highlighted a patient with severe anxiety over getting a kidney transplant. Once again, evolvedMD and Rovicare’s collaborative efforts helped connect the patient to community resources, conquer their anxiety, and complete an MRI and blood work. The result? The patient got on the list and received a successful kidney transplant.
Likhmania shared the powerful story of one patient who desperately needed physical and mental health care at home. Traditionally, finding an available home caregiver could take weeks, maybe months. Leveraging Rovicare’s robust referral network within its innovative platform, the team found a caregiver in 24 hours, enabling the patient to receive swift, high-quality treatment, enhancing their overall quality of life.
When asked what advice they would give primary care providers, Chief Medical Officers, and other critical primary care staff eager to address mental health, the two leaders offered short, but powerful calls to action:
“Don’t treat behavioral health like a second-class citizen. If you work in modern primary care and aren’t committed to your patients’ mental health, then you aren’t modern. And if you haven’t started your integration journey, start now!” – Erik Osland.
“Call Erik.” – PJ Likhmania.