Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), a large medical lab, has partnered with Catapult Health, a provider of employee-sponsored preventative checkups, to provide virtual mental health screenings to organizations for their employees.
The offering is part of a larger collaboration between the two companies, with the goal being to help employers give their workers access to clinical services, especially those related to reducing the risk of preventable chronic diseases.
Quest is one of the nation’s leading clinical laboratory companies. For employers, it provides employee population health management and screening solutions designed to improve outcomes and costs for clients. Meanwhile, Catapult offers preventive and primary care services to employers and health plans nationwide through its fully integrated virtual solution.
The partnership was born out of Quest’s desire to add new service offerings for its employer clients. Catapult’s preventive primary care checkup offering caught the company’s eye, according to Wendi Mader, executive director and commercial leader for Quest Diagnostics.
“As part of that primary preventive care checkup, they had mental health services,” Mader told Behavioral Health Business. “We felt that to be an important component.”
Historically, Quest has mostly focused on physical health, doing biometric screenings to monitor things like height, weight and blood pressure. But behavioral health can majorly contribute to many physical health measures, which is why Quest was bullish on preventative mental health screenings.
Each checkup covers personal and family health history; Quest’s lab tests and biometric data; medication adherence; and a depression screening using a PHQ-9. From there, patients are set up with a plan of action to fit their needs, which can include referrals into employer health and benefits programs.
Plus, another big selling point for Quest was Catapult’s ability to connect those who need it with follow up care, Mader said.
“Post-screening, [patients] are scheduling an appointment with Catapult, and they’re talking virtually with a nurse practitioner,” Mader said.
She said Quest has already started signing up customers for the Catapult; however it’s too soon to tell what kind of impact the service has had for those employers.
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