In a generation where mental and behavioral health is still rocket science to most and treated as a luxury that not everyone can afford, Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, author, and mental health specialist, remains undaunted in his dedication to destigmatize mental health and make it affordable for everyone.
Dr. Sharma, alongside other big names in the domain of health care such as Mark C. Kross of Kaiser Permanente Orange County and Dr. Howard J. Federoff of University of California (UC) Irvine Health, had well-deserved recognition in the Orange County Business Journal Health Care Roundtable. The CEO’s participation in the Roundtable with all the top leaders of health care has proved his competence and leadership in the industry, placing Sovereign Health in the limelight as the national leader of behavioral health.
However, numerous matters regarding general health are still concerning for a household of a typical American family. The fate of the Affordable Care Act, integrated care, emerging technology in medicine, and the rising cost of health care are just a few examples of issues that need to be addressed.
In terms of integrated and quality care, Mental health specialist Dr. Tonmoy Sharma believed that the transitioning from volume (fee-for-service) to value-based (fee-for-performance) care has challenged treatment centers to meet a higher standard in the behavioral health treatment industry. “Providers are challenged with the task of measuring clinical outcomes and developing standards of care to ensure the public, consumers, insurance companies, and other payers that treatment is effective and high quality,” he stated. To further improve the quality of care delivered to patients with mental and substance use disorders, Dr. Sharma also aligned Measurement-based Care, the systematic collection of patient-reported outcome data, with value-based programs. With the combination of the two, more specific and quality clinical decision-making can be made.
Moreover, by utilizing the technology in medicine, Sovereign Health can be a leader of innovation. According to Dr. Sharma, “we’ve created and adopted new technologies and implemented measurement-based care protocol to provide clinicians with patient feedback and evaluate symptoms, cognitive functioning, and personality variables of patients throughout the treatment course to improve the delivery of care and patients’ clinical outcomes.” Furthermore, Sovereign has also made several milestones in modernizing medicine such as:
- An internal workflow system that leverages in-house software capabilities to improve the process of working with patients.
- The Patient Information Management System which captures real-time information about patients and allows Sovereign to manage multiple users involved in inpatient care.
- Lastly, leveraged telehealth and smartphone applications to reach patients who are incapable of attending treatment.
In addition, McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, has released their independent quarterly reports that showed Sovereign’s patients to be leaving treatment with much greater improvements in their symptoms and functioning from being in a much sicker state, in comparison to other 50 Joint Commission accredited organizations nationwide.
Orange County’s act to bring together the biggest and best minds of the industry, especially Dr. Tonmoy Sharma, author, and mental health specialist, have brought about excitement for every individual; whether it be a parent, a sibling, or a child; the assurance that psychological health will be prioritized is something to bring home and might help in dealing with everyone’s issues that they have in their own lives.
Up until now, mental, and behavioral health are still placed at the back of the line in the field of modern medicine. In front would always be the physiological illnesses that the industry assumes deserving of the most health care. As to how Kevin Gallagher—CFO of Sovereign Health—described, “behavioral, mental health, and solitude level has been treated as the ugly stepchild of the health care industry,” he stated.
Dr. Sharma’s major goal to obliterate the stigma surrounding behavioral health is a huge step to highlight/raise awareness on the importance of offering the proper treatment to those in need. Due to the stigma wrapped around behavioral health, some victims are afraid to step forward and seek professional treatment in fear of judgment and misunderstanding.
Being led by the top CEO of the industry has given Sovereign Health bigger opportunities to make behavioral and mental health the mainstay of modern medicine. Mental health specialist Dr. Tonmoy Sharma’s studies, research, and training provided a huge impact on the treatment and addressing of the psychological welfare of the people, especially those who are suffering the consequences of addiction.
Dr. Sharma’s advocacy to raise awareness and provide the proper treatment a patient needs undeniably portrays his compassion and empathy to his patients. His commitment to improving the state of behavioral health care to his extent is what makes him stand out from the rest of the industry. Dr. Sharma’s efforts that he has been putting through to his objectives since day one to better the lives of the people struggling with mental health and addiction have secured his place as one of the top CEOs and certifies that he is indeed well-deserving of all the recognition he receives.
