Avo Adds Anxiety Algorithm to Decision Support Offering

NEW YORK,  March 13, 2023

Avo, a decision support company that increases physician efficiency, improves outcomes, and standardizes care, announced today that they are adding point-of-care treatment algorithms for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (“GAD”) to a decision support tool developed in collaboration with Columbia University that already includes depression medical management, Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Suicide Safety Plan, and E&M Billing and Coding. Additionally, Columbia Psychiatry is now making this technology available for use on both mobile and desktop applications with EHR integration and one-click documentation automation.

The offering—known as Columbia Psychiatry Pathways—supports and strengthens the ability of clinicians to provide critical mental health services in an outpatient setting.

“This tool offers primary care providers help in more effectively treating mental health issues,” said Dr. J. John Mann, The Paul Janssen Professor of Translational Neuroscience (in Psychiatry and in Radiology) and Co-Director of the Columbia Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the creator these decision support modules. “As an alternative to perhaps using older less effective treatments or immediately referring patients to a psychiatrist, PCPs can consider expert-guided suggestions for care for mental health conditions by accessing leading psychiatric expertise at the point of care on their phone or computer.”

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Combining software with clinical expertise

The clinical decision support tool, developed by Dr. Mann and Dr. Ravi Shah, assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and former Chief Innovation Officer at Columbia Psychiatry, in collaboration with Avo, is intended for use by primary care physicians, psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical students, residents, and trainees in outpatient settings as they treat patients with GAD, Depression, Suicidality, or other mental health conditions.

GAD commonly presents to the PCPs and accounts for frequent, inappropriate use of benzodiazepine prescriptions when other classes of nonaddictive psychotropic medications are a preferred approach. Columbia Psychiatry Pathways now presents a guide for such an improved treatment approach to GAD.

Additionally, GAD often is anxiety associated with a major depressive episode, substance use disorder or even hyperthyroidism and endocrine tumors. The Columbia-designed offering is designed to help clinicians navigate these diagnostic questions and be more confident about the diagnosis of GAD before beginning treatment with evidence-based medications.

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Primary Care Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Can Save Lives

Anxiety disorders at the most common mental health concern in the US. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that over 19% of US adults had an anxiety disorder in the past year. Additionally, anxiety disorders are a leading cause of disability, accounting for more years lived with a disability than any other mental health condition as well as many physical health conditions.[1]

Research has shown that primary care providers who integrate behavioral health into their practices can improve clinical outcomes and even save lives. Specifically, research shows that treating anxiety in primary care has substantial advantages in terms of ease of access and financial cost. However, only a minority of patients seeking help in primary care receive adequate treatment for their anxiety. Additionally, anxiety disorders with insufficient treatment can become chronic, lead to further social and economic negative externalities, and can increase the likelihood of developing common co-occurring conditions such as depression and substance use disorder. [2][3][4]

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Avo Expands Access to Platform on Desktops and via the EHR

Avo is now offering Columbia’s best-in-class expertise on the newly released web version of its tool. This application is available on Epic’s App Market and can be integrated into any of the other major EHRs, or work as a standalone tool. Additionally, the software enables clinicians to automatically generate their own custom assessment plans with a single click.

Using Avo’s no-code content management system, clinicians and hospitals can quickly and collaboratively customize Columbia’s expert guidance to fit their own local needs and workflows.

“We are privileged to work with Columbia Psychiatry, including one of the greatest clinical experts in Psychiatry, Dr. Mann,” said Yair Saperstein, MD MPH, CEO of Avo. “Translating Columbia’s expertise onto Avo will elevate the quality of care that PCPs and psychiatry providers can deliver as they deal with a continuous surge of patients with mental health needs.”

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You can download the mobile app now from the App Store and Google Play Store.

For institutional subscriptions that include desktop access, analytics, and content customization, please contact info@avomd.io

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About Avo

Avo is a software platform that translates clinical evidence -  guidelines, pathways, and algorithms - into the workflow, available in the EHR (live in Epic) or as a standalone web/mobile applications. Avo automates the ordering and documentation processes in addition to providing clinical guidelines in real-time, point-of-care optimized formats. Randomized control trials and implementations demonstrate that Avo saves clinicians over 50% of their time in clinical decision-making at the bedside while improving outcomes and reducing costs.Learn more: avomd.ioEmail: info@avomd.io

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_{[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24451993/}

_{‍[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30395608/}

_{‍[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25716600/}

_{‍[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12497648/}