Aeroflow study examines postpartum care gaps

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Aeroflow Health has released a white paper examining why new mothers miss the six-week postpartum visit and outlining steps health plans can take to improve follow-up care. “The Silent Gap: Why New Mothers Miss Postpartum Care” draws on an independent survey of more than 500 postpartum mothers, including those with commercial insurance, Medicaid, marketplace coverage and no insurance. Respondents cited childcare, transportation, scheduling difficulties, limited in-network access and a lack of awareness about appointments as barriers to completing postpartum care. Aeroflow identified telehealth as one way health plans can address those obstacles while improving maternal health outcomes and quality measures. “Virtual care that begins earlier in the prenatal period and continues through postpartum ensures mothers have access to quality care wherever they are,” said Casey Hite, CEO of Aeroflow Health. “This analysis provides health plans with the structural redesign of maternal care that can improve HEDIS scores, prevent maternal deaths, reduce the long-term burden of untreated postpartum depression, and elevate health leadership across the country.” The white paper recommends that health plans use virtual care to support:

• Social needs screening: By conducting screenings virtually and multiple times throughout the pregnancy, health plans can better identify needs and provide touchpoints, with warm handoffs to community resources, benefits navigation, and care coordination.
• Periodic mental health assessments: Mental health screening conducted virtually removes a significant participation barrier. Mothers who would not disclose depressive symptoms in a clinic waiting room are more likely to engage with a brief validated questionnaire delivered through a text message, app, or telehealth platform in the privacy of their own home.
• Proactive appointment scheduling with reminders: Telehealth provides proactive appointment reminders to improve attendance rates at the six-week postpartum visit. In Aeroflow’s survey, respondents identified reminders as the intervention most likely to have helped them attend their appointment and it represents the clearest, lowest-friction lever available to health plans.

Related: Aeroflow buys Canopie to offer new moms full suite of products, services