Philadelphia-based behavioral health software startup NeuroFlow has acquired Owl, a provider of measurement-based behavioral health care, marking its second acquisition within a year.
Behavioral health companies have increasingly consolidated over recent years amid rising demand for mental health services. These mergers aim to combine resources, expertise, software, and care models to better meet the growing need for mental health support.
NeuroFlow CEO Chris Molaro explained that there are three primary types of deals driving this consolidation: mergers between clinical services companies, tech-enabled service companies merging, and combinations of clinical and tech-enabled service companies. NeuroFlow’s acquisition of Owl falls into the latter category.
NeuroFlow: Integrating Behavioral Health into Healthcare
Founded in 2016, NeuroFlow aims to integrate behavioral health services into overall healthcare. Its platform enables providers to conduct behavioral health assessments that detect a wide range of conditions, starting with anxiety and depression. The platform engages patients by offering personalized self-care activities and allowing them to log daily insights such as sleep patterns and mood scores. This data helps measure patient progress and update their risk levels accordingly.
Providers using NeuroFlow’s platform have access to AI-powered clinical decision support tools, which help determine the best care plans for patients. The platform also includes a triage engine that triggers alerts when a patient’s acuity level rises, prompting clinicians to intervene as needed.
Owl: Enhancing Measurement-Based Care
Owl specializes in measurement-based care (MBC), a method that involves the consistent use of standardized assessments to gather data on patients’ symptoms, functioning, and overall wellbeing throughout their treatment. This data-driven approach aims to improve patient outcomes, particularly in behavioral health.
Before the acquisition, NeuroFlow primarily worked with primary care providers and health plans, while Owl focused on outpatient behavioral health providers. With the merger, NeuroFlow will now oversee more than 17 million lives on its platform and support payers and providers across all 50 states.
Molaro highlighted that both companies already shared a customer in Ascension, with NeuroFlow serving the health system’s primary care groups and Owl serving its psychiatry groups.
A Strategic Move for Enhanced Offerings
“About a year ago, we were discussing a potential business development deal with Owl,” Molaro said. “But we realized it made more sense to consolidate and come together as one team to provide a bigger offering.”
Molaro believes these types of consolidations are crucial for the future of behavioral health care. With unprecedented demand for mental health services, the market needs comprehensive and robust solutions.
This acquisition of Owl follows NeuroFlow’s purchase of behavioral health company Capital Solution Design last July, further solidifying NeuroFlow’s position in the behavioral health sector.
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