Monument: A New Referral Source
Main Points
14.4 million adults over the age of 18 in the United States exhibited some kind of alcohol use disorder, and only about 7.9% of those people received treatment
Monument is the company that is trying to help people change their drinking
Monument connects people with therapists so they can get the treatment that they need
Any referral source during COVID is helpful to look into even if it is not a good fit for you
14.4 million adults over the age of 18 in the United States exhibited some kind of alcohol use disorder, and only about 7.9% of those people received treatment
It is no surprise to the therapeutic community then alcoholism and comorbid disorders with alcoholism have long been a problem in American society. This apparent reality had particular bearing for Monument founder Mike Russell. Mike Russell is the co-founder of Monument a health service that provides access to prescription medication and treatment modalities to combat alcohol use disorders. According to an article published by Tech Crunch Mike Russell started the business after seeking treatment himself.
Mike Russell's background is pretty colorful in terms of those people starting tech companies around mental health issues. Mike Russell who was a nightlife promoter states that he used To be a professional drinker. The club promotion business seems to have a culture that requires drinking. Mike Russell who was entrenched in the nightlife promotion business also became an entrepreneur and carried with him a binge-drinking habit. His drinking carried through to his first startup and to his second.
However, when his third business was acquired Mike Russell discovered two things. The first is that his drinking was actually a problem. The second is that there are alternative treatment options to Alcoholics Anonymous and rehab. Those two realizations brought Russell to start Monument and raise funding from a variety of venture capital firms. Monument has raised over $7.5 million.
Admittedly, there seems to be a lot of venture capital and private equity funding right now in the mental health space. In fact, the mental health industry was listed as the number one in his industry for innovation in the next 30 years. You can find that link here
Monument seems to have struck a chord even for the private equity and venture capital industry that will likely last quite some time. There is a few main elements to Monument's business model. The first facet of Monument's business model is the free-to-access community of people looking for information and support around their decision to stop drinking. In addition, there are also free group therapy sessions available to community members feeling increased urges to use substances because of added pressure from quarantine restrictions.
There is a one time fee to see a doctor that can prescribe medication to suppress the need or desire to drink. Finally, Monument offers two tiers of therapy services for those who want either biweekly or weekly sessions.
Mike Russell says, "We connect members to physicians that understand the medication options or they could opt not to take medication. Members are connected to a licensed therapist that focuses specifically on co-morbidities”.
On May 11th Monument had around 700 people on its network and expects to see more people join every day. For right now the treatment options are available for those people in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. After the initial launch Monument has stated that it will add California and Connecticut.
Monument stated that therapists will still need to be licensed in the state where they operate.
They are continuing to build a supply of physicians, clinicians, and therapists that are licensed in each state. The fundamental benefit of this service is that as members go into treatment they go into treatment with a plan And the resources they need for treatment.
The benefit for mental health providers is that they can develop a new referral channel through tech companies like Monument.
Indeed there has been a spike of mental health-related tech startups in the last 10 years or so and that trend will likely continue into the future.
It is going to be important that has a therapist you work at various tech startups and innovations in the industry because they could very well benefit you and your practice into the future for example if you are a telehealth provider that specializes in treating comorbid diagnoses this would be a phenomenal fit for you.
You would essentially be on the ground floor have a company that is looking to expand and has the capital resources available to do so. The other benefit to you is a provider by signing up for a network like Monument is that they are small enough that you will get plenty of visibility without having to violate any ethical standards.
There are a variety of discussions happening around the ethics of reviewing therapists on referral sites but if you were able to get in early with a company like Monument you may not have that ethical issue.
The other benefit of being an early adopter of companies like momentum is that you can grow with the company that is spending more on advertising and development than you possibly could. That means that you ride the growth of a company that you are invested in but not dependent on.
Especially during the #COVID pandemic finding any referral source is to be critical for the survival and growth of your practice. Many providers have lost referral sources because of the shutdowns occurring in each state but startups like Monument are helping to change that narrative.
Here are some next steps that we would amend if you are considering joining Monument or any other tech startup as a way of getting more patients:
Do your research
Find out what the fees are
Find out what the reimbursement is
Find out all of the requirements needed to be a provider in their referral network
Ask around in your community if any of your colleagues have joined Monument
If after taking these steps you find that you are actually a really good fit then we would recommend reach out to Monument and find out what the next steps are.
If you are planning your recovery plan from #COVID-19, this particular resource would fit into your medium to long-term planning strategy. According to an article entitled A CEO Plan for Coronavirus: Actions to Take Now by Bain Consulting, at this point in the #coronavirus pandemic a CEO or business owner should be assessing methods for outperforming or hitting your original plans.
Preparing for bounce-back and recovery is going to be an important part of your long-term strategy at this point in the pandemic.
Here are some examples of actions that you can take:
Defend against revenue declines by investing in marketing and operationalizing your telehealth strategies
Stabilize your transition plan back to the office by focusing on clinical safety and patient trust
Plan urgent cost cuts to conserve cash
Develop a two-wave plan that includes possible impacts to your projections for the rest of the year and beyond
If you have a question about this blog, billing, or credentialing we would love to answer your questions or troubleshoot any issues that you might have.
