Digital behavioral health provider Lyra has launched a new offering for individuals with complex mental health issues.
The new offering takes a multipronged approach to supporting individuals with severe mental health needs.
“When building Lyra Complex Care, we focused on four critical components not offered anywhere else: a specialized network of facility partners; a dedicated multidisciplinary team of complex care experts; a comprehensive assessment and triage process designed to precisely connect members to the right level of high-acuity care; and true end-to-end support,” Dr. Smita Das, vice president of psychiatry and complex care at Lyra Health, wrote in a blog.
Lyra was founded in 2015 as a workforce mental health product. Over the last few years, Lyra has garnered investor attention. After closing a $200 million Series C funding round in 2021, the company has raised $680 million.
As part of this new complex care offering, it has partnered with specialized network providers at 250 locations, including Mount Sinai Health System, Hazelden Betty Ford, and Charlie Health. These partnerships allow Lyra’s team to hand off patients with acute needs to providers specializing in these conditions.
Lyra has also trained new internal multidisciplinary teams, which include psychiatrists, social workers and master’s-level clinicians. These teams can collaborate on treatment plans and work with the organization’s partner care providers.
Part of the complex care offering is a triage component. This element allows providers to help patients determine which program is best for them or if an external program like an intensive outpatient program (IOP) would be the best option.
This isn’t Lyra’s first offering for acute mental health needs. The company also has a Dialectical Behavior Therapy program aimed at reducing suicide risk and self-injury. Additionally, it has an offering called Lyra Renew for people with substance use disorders. This program offers group sessions and medication-assisted-treatment.
While Lyra is increasing its reach in the severe mental illness space, for the most part, digital-first companies have focused their attention on the lower acuity space. Still, there could be an opportunity for venture-backed startups to explore serious mental illness (SMI) care.
“I think [SMI] often requires a new model of care. Private equity is less about building a new model than expanding a model that has proven efficacy,” Terry Hyman, managing partner of Northwood Healthcare Partners, told Behavioral Health Business.” So I actually think that the venture community is well suited to do the work to build the models, in some ways better suited than classic private equity.”
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