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Welcome to The Census, your weekly roundup of what matters in behavioral healthcare.

Top stories this week: 

• On Our Radar: A psychedelic to “prevent + treat” eating disorders.

• Catch Up Quick: The latest news headlines in under two minutes. 

• One Good Thing: A new tool helps teens manage stress.

Let’s dive in.

- Shân

Reading time: ~3 minutes.

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On Our Radar

What we’re watching this week 

🍄 Are Psychedelic-Based Treatments For Eating Disorders Next?

A new patent application certainly suggests so. 

Canadian biotech firm Clearmind has filed a US patent for a psychedelic-derived substance they believe ​​can “prevent and/or treat eating disorders.”

• Of critical importance here, and we refer to the press release, is this goal will be achieved through — wait for it — drug-assisted weight loss

So essentially, they’re creating a psychedelic-based version of Ozempic to treat eating disorders. There are at least two choices in that sentence that we, personally, would’ve reconsidered. 

• The substance, 3-methyl methcathinone (3-MMC), is an isomer of the illicit drug mephedrone (4-MMC)

•  3-MMC is illegal in most countries, including the States

This (harrowingly) illustrates how hastily firms will try to patent new psychedelics for every area of behavioral health. Not to mention, of course, the current state of affairs in… *gestures wildly at society.* But that’s another matter. 

Let’s get to your news headlines.

Catch Up Quick

This week’s top stories

Latest News

🖥️ Telehealth startup Cerebral has been fined $7M over ‘careless’ patient privacy violations.

✊ Bicycle Health clinicians + providers have unionized in a landmark moment for the digital SUD industry; the new union will fight “increasingly untenable pressure” from the telehealth giant. 

🏛️ Architectural design trends for autism providers can promote self-regulation, autonomy, and agency.

👀 Both payers and patients prioritize behavioral health operators that provide full continuums of care.

🤔 UnitedHealth was tight-lipped on behavioral health plans on a recent earnings call, despite having recently expanded its behavioral health segment.

💸 Related: UnitedHealth will take a hit of up to $1.6B from the Change hack.

⚠️ California health workers may face a rude awakening with the $25 minimum wage law if providers follow through on cuts to hours and benefits.

🧠 The Texas Psychologists’ Board wants to create its own exam to get professionals licensed more quickly, and at lower costs.

👥 The autism therapy industry faces a systemic shortage of experienced board-certified behavioral analysts.

📝 Seattle’s new controversial drug law has had little direct impact on public drug use or diversion.

😞 A lack of behavioral health providers in Medicare and Medicaid means <8% of enrollees are getting care.

💰 AltaPointe says their Behavioral Health Crisis Center has saved the Mobile community $35M since 2021. 

🧑‍⚖️ A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit alleging UnitedHealth Group used an algorithm to review patient claims for SUD treatment more stringently. 

🚨 The FTC has taken action against telehealth addiction service Monument as it cracks down on digital companies’ misuse of personal health data.

🧑‍💼 Thrive Network’s new CEO is bullish on enterprise agreements, and is “formalizing relationships with large groups, with payers.”

🇺🇸 Mississippi, one of the poorest and least healthy states, could become the next to expand Medicaid.

📖 A playbook of voluntary best practices for VBC payment arrangements, courtesy of AHIP, AMA, and NAACOS.

🧾 The billing hurdles associated with addiction and primary care integration.

💡 How autism is interconnected with other health conditions, and the role of tech in providing care, per BHB. 

Expansions, Launches, & Partnerships

🎉 Brighten Bay, a new residential eating disorder and mental health treatment facility, has opened in Florida. 

💻 Bend Health, a virtual pediatric mental health startup, has expanded its services to young adults.

✅ CooperRiis, a non-profit mental health treatment program, is now in-network with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. 

🏛️ Anabranch Recovery Center has opened a new outpatient clinic in Indiana. 

🏗️ The New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute will break ground on a $98M forensics unit this fall.

🚗 Acadia and Uber Health have partnered to tackle transportation barriers for opioid treatment.

🤝 Health Advocate and Tava Health have partnered to expand access to virtual therapy.

🥽 Startup oVRcome has signed a contract with the UK’s NHS to help people with autism navigate hospital environments and social interactions.

Studies & Opinion Pieces

🧒 More than 1 in 10 US children are diagnosed with ADHD (study). 

🤖 Generative AI will shape the mental health status of youths for generations to come (opinion). 

💔 Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among US college athletes, after accidents (study).

🔎 Mental health screening tools for kids are 30 years out of date (opinion).

💡 Philly needs tough love — not ‘safe’ drug use — to free it from the scourge of tranq (opinion). 

🗣️ Researchers testing new behavioral health interventions presented preliminary findings at FAPESP Week.

Tech & AI

🩺 Four in 10 US doctors say they’re ready to use generative AI in patient interactions.

🤖 Related: NextGen Healthcare launched their AI-driven ambient assistant for mental and behavioral health professionals.

🚨 There’s more: Experts have raised concerns about the rising use of gen AI to provide people with mental health advice.

⌚ Wearables give therapists a better feel for patients’ mental health — and may find a place in clinical care.

Funding Rounds & Investor Moves

🍔 $35M for Equip, an eating disorder telehealth startup (SEC filing). 

🧠 $9M for Valera Health, a virtual psychiatric care provider (SEC filing).

🧑‍💻 $72M for Two Chairs, a hybrid therapy platform.

🫄 $4.2M for LunaJoy, a maternal mental health startup.  

📊 $47.5M for Kontakt.io, an analytics company focusing on the inpatient healthcare journey.

💰 Optum-backed Refresh Mental Health has acquired the fast-growing outpatient mental health provider CARE Counseling.

💻 The virtual SUD treatment industry represents a market opportunity of over $10B, per a PitchBook report.

One Good Thing

❤️ A Self-Guided Digital Tool Helps Teens Manage Stress

Teens report high levels of stress, but are much less likely to engage in stress-management techniques.

Tech can help.

A new study found a teen-specific tool effectively reduced perceived stress, rumination, and loneliness among adolescents — promising news for the 43M+ American youths (and their parents). 

That’s it for this week, see you next Wednesday with the latest headlines.

- Shân

P.S. You can email me here if you want to share any feedback, or let me know about something important your company is doing.

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