NOCD Funds Actuarial Study to Reveal Social, Clinical, and Financial Impact of OCD

Report to be provided to attendees of the 2021 Going Digital Behavioral Health Tech Conference

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An independent research study based on millions of de-identified national healthcare claims will reveal the prevalence of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in the U.S. population, the levels of care that OCD patients transition through, and the comparative costs of different treatments for OCD.

The research project, commissioned by NOCD and undertaken by Santa Barbara Actuaries (SBA), is based on a one-million-member sample of the IBM MarketScan* commercial healthcare claims dataset. The model has validity for predicting the likely prevalence, costs, and outcomes of a population that mirrors the average U.S. distribution. Analysts identified OCD diagnoses of health plan members among the total population, and then analyzed that data to reveal care utilization patterns and the costs related to OCD episodes of care.

“The report will help stakeholders understand the impact of OCD on our society by accurately measuring its prevalence, care, and cost,” said Dr. Jamie Feusner, chief medical officer of NOCD. “The past year has been difficult for many people. The severity of behavioral health conditions is rising due to social determinants, such as the pandemic, and a lack of specialized treatment. This research will help payers, providers, clinicians, and employers understand that OCD specifically is often misdiagnosed and has a very high co-morbidity rate. By shining a light on the prevalence of the OCD diagnosis, we can develop methods for suspect OCD populations that improve cost and care outcomes.”

Details from the report, “Insights Into the Cost of Care for OCD,” will be presented by Dr. Jamie Feusner, chief clinical officer of NOCD; and Stephen Smith, chief executive officer of NOCD; at the Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech conference on June 3, 2021 at 11:10 a.m. PT. Interested parties should register for the event now and plan to attend the session titled OCD Prevalence and Outcomes. Seating will be limited to the first 500 registrants. All attendees will receive a link to download the report and accompanying spreadsheet at no charge.

“We’re thrilled that the researchers chose our venue to publish this eye-opening study,” said Solome Tibebu, founder and host of the 2021 Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech conference. “Healthcare only advances based on clinical and financial evidence. It’s crucial that stakeholders come together and transparently share empirical data such as this, so we can advance the field of mental health and addiction, and ultimately improve patient care through clinical and technological innovation.”

About the Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech Conference

The Going Digital: Behavioral Health Tech conference is the leading virtual behavioral health convening for health plans, employers, benefits professionals, health systems, providers, investors, and startups to share best practices for deploying effective, scalable behavioral health solutions to all individuals in light of COVID-19 and beyond. This virtual forum will showcase the changing technological, reimbursement, and policy landscape for telehealth and other virtual behavioral health solutions. Join us and thousands of other healthcare professionals working to make mental health and substance-use care more accessible for all. All proceeds of the event will support BEAM (Black Emotional Mental Health and Wellness Collective).

About Santa Barbara Actuaries Inc.

Santa Barbara Actuaries is an actuarial and management consulting firm that assists clients in developing economic models to demonstrate the financial efficacy of healthcare devices and intervention programs. Learn more at www.sbactuaries.com.

About NOCD Inc.

NOCD (https://www.nocd.com) is the #1 telehealth provider for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We help people reclaim their lives with clinically proven OCD treatment, by removing barriers to OCD care, and by reducing the stigma associated with OCD. Our innovative telehealth platform lets members quickly access our national network of licensed therapists who specialize in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the “gold standard” for OCD treatment. Working together with our therapists, patients, health plans, providers, and employers, we are improving the lives of people with OCD. Please visit our website for more information about NOCD.

* Certain data used in this study were supplied by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Any analysis, interpretation, or conclusion based on these data is solely that of the authors and not International Business Machines Corporation.