Urgent behavioral health care providers seek to build a market and regulatory framework that is still in its genesis.

The fledgling segment of the behavioral health space presently lacks national acceptance at the regulatory level. And while a new mode of care will take some time for consumers to adopt, it fills several vital needs in the behavioral health industry.

Like primary care, behavioral health struggles with long wait times for outpatient services. The only other option for care for many is an emergency room — a level of care that patients may not want or need. 

Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how poorly prepared many hospital emergency rooms are to handle patients with urgent behavioral health needs.

Connections CEO, Colin LeClair, speaks with Chris Larson at Behavioral Health Business on the importance of immediate-access crisis services in the continuum and how Connections has been successful at expanding its model to new markets, overcoming regulatory barriers others have faced.