CONCORD, N.H. – Expanded use of telehealth and mobile health (MHealth) technologies to integrate behavioral and primary health care could benefit New Hampshire residents, according to a recently released report and accompanying webinar from the Institute for Health Policy and Practice at the University of New Hampshire and the NH Citizens Health Initiative.

“The behavioral health crisis in New Hampshire necessitates that we find innovative ways to provide better access to care,” said Jeanne Ryer, director of the NH Citizens Health Initiative, a program of the Institute of Health Policy and Practice (IHPP) at the University of New Hampshire. “New Hampshire is a perfect place to bring these technologies together in our current efforts to integrate mental health care and physical health care.” 

The report found there is a strong foundation for telehealth and MHealth expansion in New Hampshire thanks to technology-savvy consumers (New Hampshire has a high rate of electronic health record technology adoption), a fairly robust telecommunications infrastructure and a predominately rural setting.

The report was developed by the NH Citizens Health Initiative’s NH Behavioral Health Learning Collaborative, which has been working to develop a health care systems’ ability to integrate behavioral health into primary care.

The Institute for Health Policy and Practice is an applied research institute in the University of New Hampshire’s College of Health and Human Services. IHPP conducts and disseminates high-quality, cutting-edge applied research and policy work that enables health system partners to implement evidence-based strategies to improve population health.

The NH Citizens Health Initiative is a multi-stakeholder collaborative effort that promotes health systems transformation in New Hampshire to improve the health of NH’s population, in line with the Triple Aim of better health, better care, and lower costs. The initiative, a program of the Institute for Health Policy and Practice at UNH, has a 10-year history of leading, incubating, and testing innovative health care transformation efforts.