HIMSS 2024: Revolutionizing Healthcare Through The Digital Transformation of Behavioral Health with Dr. Jaqueline Naeem

 

The rapid proliferation of mental health applications and the ambiguous distinction between mental health and wellness technologies underscore the urgency for clearer regulatory and clinical guidelines in behavioral health. At HIMSS 2024, Dr. Jaqueline Naeem, Senior Medical Director at the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, addressed the evolving landscape of mental health technologies. Her talk shed light on the exciting yet daunting influx of over 20,000 mental health apps, raising questions about efficacy and oversight.

Why does the surge in mental health apps matter now? At the HIMSS 2024 conference, the pressing issue was not just the quantity of these apps but their quality and integration into holistic healthcare strategies. How can healthcare ensure these tools truly benefit those they aim to serve?

In this episode of Healthcare Rethink, host Brian Urban explores these critical questions with Dr. Naeem. Recorded live at the HIMSS conference, this discussion delves into the intersection of technology and patient care in the behavioral health sector.

Key Points from the Episode:

  • Growth of Mental Health Apps: The overwhelming presence of mental health applications and the necessity for critical evaluation and oversight
  • Distinction between Health and Wellness: The need for clear definitions and purpose in health applications to avoid confusion and misuse
  • Integration into Holistic Health Strategies: Challenges and opportunities in integrating these technologies into broader health care frameworks to enhance patient care

Dr. Jaqueline Naeem, with her extensive background in psychiatry and role as Senior Medical Director at Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation, brings a unique perspective on integrating technology into behavioral health. Her insights from HIMSS 2024 highlight the critical intersection of technology and patient care.

Recent Episodes

Health insurers love to advertise themselves as guardians of care, but the real story often begins when a patient’s life no longer fits neatly into a spreadsheet. In oncology especially, “coverage” isn’t a bureaucratic checkbox—it’s the fragile bridge between a treatment that finally works and a relapse that can undo years of grit…

In “Fighting for Coverage,” a patient describes a double war: the physical fight to stay alive and the bureaucratic fight to prove to an insurer that her life is worth the cost. Her account spotlights a core tension in the U.S. system—coverage decisions are increasingly shaped by prior authorizations and desk-based reviewers who…

The sustainability of the healthcare system won’t be secured by another round of cost-cutting or clever benefit design alone, but by a hard cultural pivot toward alignment: payers, providers, employers, and patient advocates pulling on the same rope instead of grading each other on different exams. Right now we’ve built a maze that…