PHOENIX – September 24, 2021 – evolvedMD, a leading behavioral health integration company, is pleased to announce its expanded collaboration with HonorHealth, a leading Valley healthcare system serving 1.6 million people in the greater Phoenix area, following a successful pilot at four of HonorHealth’s locations in 2020.
“Addressing mental health has never been more important or more challenging than it is right now,” said Tiffany Pankow, MD, associate chief medical officer of HonorHealth Medical Group. “COVID-19 has exacerbated many behavioral health problems and has highlighted the need to focus on not just the physical health of patients, but their mental health as well. Because mental and physical health are so interdependent, our primary care providers have always been future focused on how best to ensure our patients receive the highest quality of care for both.”
The expansion of the evolvedMD and HonorHealth’s work together comes at a time when Arizona ranks 10th worst in the country for access to mental health services, according to Mental Health America. Taking this collaborative model to scale across all HonorHealth sites will provide more Arizonans increased access to critical behavioral health services.
“With suicide continuing to be one of the leading causes of death in the United States, suicide awareness and prevention are key to saving lives,” says Cori Frolander, Executive Director of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Arizona Chapter. “We are proud to have the support of evolvedMD to drive exposure to tools and resources and be an advocate for expanded access to behavioral health services.”
“As an Arizona native with a personal story that inspired our work, this is a pivotal moment for HonorHealth, evolvedMD, and the people of Arizona,” said Erik Osland, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of evolvedMD. “Over the last year, this pilot increased access to mental health services for many people and their families, during perhaps the most difficult time for many. This expansion will allow for our upfront and ongoing approach to be available to even more in the Valley.”
The innovative collaboration is the first of its kind at scale in Arizona and signals a reimagining of what modern primary care means. Onsite and embedded at practices across the Phoenix-metro area, evolvedMD’s unique approach not only sees therapists meeting patients where they are (in person or virtually) but also includes wraparound services in the form of care coordination to help manage barriers to care such as social determinants of health.
For more information on participating HonorHealth sites and timeline for full expansion, visit evolvedMD or reach out to Sentari Minor at sminor@evolvedmd.com to learn more about how this unique approach is strengthening communities across the Valley.
About evolvedMD
Launched in 2017, evolvedMD is leading the integration of behavioral health services in modern primary care. Uniquely upfront and ongoing, our distinctive model places behavioral health specialists onsite within a practice. evolvedMD offers an economically viable and better way to integrate behavioral health that ultimately drives improved patient outcomes.