Expanding Access
"Expanding Access," a podcast by Behavioral Health Tech, explores how technology and innovation are transforming mental health, substance use, and autism/IDD care. Tune in for expert discussions on key topics like employee benefits, health equity, investment and M&A landscape, neurodiversity, Medicaid, value-based care, and the future of behavioral health.
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Building Better Behavioral Health Systems with Data, Trust, and Human Judgment with Rebecca Ragland
<p>AI is transforming healthcare, but in behavioral health, how do we make sure technology doesn't come at the expense of human connection?</p> <p>In this episode, Rebecca Ragland, Clinical Global Account Executive at Multi-Health Systems, explores how scientifically validated assessments and emerging technologies can improve behavioral healthcare while preserving the human element. She discusses the growing role of AI in clinical workflows and why clinicians must remain central to decision-making, particularly as technology advances faster than organizations can adapt. Rebecca also explains how trusted, structured data can serve as a guardrail for responsible innovation, helping organizations improve consistency...
When Success Starts to Feel Misaligned: How Leaders Can Recognize Drift and Return to Clarity with Kristi Huber
<p>Burnout often does not happen all at once. For many leaders, it starts with small moments of drift away from their vision, voice, values, and vitality.</p> <p>In this episode, Kristi Huber, Founder of Perspective Shift Consulting, discusses how leaders can recognize and prevent leadership drift before it leads to burnout. Drawing from her own lived experience, she explains why high achievers are especially vulnerable to overcommitting, losing alignment, and operating on autopilot. Kristi introduces the Radical Clarity Compass as a practical framework for helping leaders and teams pause, reflect, and reconnect with what matters most. The conversation...
Fixing the Broken Path to Disability Benefits with Lauren Fusco, Director of Partnerships at Mindset Care
<p>Navigating SSI and SSDI benefits is often overwhelming, time-consuming, and difficult to manage, especially for individuals already dealing with health, financial, and life challenges.</p> <p>In this episode, Lauren Fusco, Director of Partnerships at Mindset Care, shares how Mindset Care is addressing these barriers with end-to-end, person-centered support that guides individuals through every step of the process. By combining technology with human expertise, Mindset helps streamline applications, improve approval outcomes, and reduce the burden on individuals and care teams alike. Through partnerships with providers, payers, and community organizations, they’re turning disability benefits into a critical gateway for br...
What Unified Platforms Make Possible In Behavioral Health with Tasneem Sanwarwalla, Director, Healthcare Presales at Workday
<p>Unified enterprise systems are no longer back-office upgrades in behavioral health. They are essential infrastructure for access, workforce stability, and financial resilience.</p> <p>In this episode, Tasneem Sanwarwalla, Director, Healthcare Presales at Workday, explains why behavioral health organizations need a unified platform that connects HR, finance, and operations in real time. She highlights how fragmented systems contribute to burnout, limit visibility, and force leaders to rely on outdated data for critical decisions. Tasneem shares how modern platforms enable better workforce planning, scenario modeling, and early detection of staff strain while aligning staffing, care delivery, and financial performance. She a...
Designing the AI Native Clinic with Dominik Middelmann, co-founder and CEO of mdhub
<p>Getting mental health care is not only about having enough clinicians. It is also about having systems that help people get in the door, get treated, and stay on track without delays.</p> <p>In this episode, Dominik Middelmann, co-founder and CEO of mdhub, discusses how everyday operational issues can slow access to behavioral health care. He explains how missed calls, excessive paperwork, disconnected systems, and billing issues can get in the way of helping people, even when clinics have open appointments. Dominik shares how mdhub was built to bring many of these tasks together into one system, using...
Why Payers And Providers Need A Better Compliance Bridge with Paige Dustmann and Derek Staub
<p>Compliance works better when documentation supports care in real time instead of becoming a burden after the fact.</p> <p>In this episode, Paige Dustmann and Derek Staub discuss how fraud, waste, and abuse pressures are reshaping behavioral health compliance for providers, payers, and managed care organizations. Paige explains how Monolith Health helps teams capture services, assessments, and treatment planning in real time, reducing paperwork and improving audit readiness. Derek highlights how changing regulations, random audits, and documentation gaps can put even well-intentioned providers at risk, emphasizing the need for stronger systems and clearer communication with MCOs. Together, they...
Your Life is Worth the Work: From Episodic Treatment to Continuous Recovery with Chris Thompson, founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick
<p>Recovery outcomes improve when support is continuous, trust-based, and built around human connection rather than episodic treatment alone.</p> <p>In this episode, Chris Thompson, founder and CEO of Sober Sidekick, shares how his personal experience with addiction inspired him to build a platform focused on reducing isolation and providing real-time support. He explains why relapse, overdose, and crises often occur outside traditional care settings, where support is limited. The platform addresses this gap through peer support, behavioral signals, and care navigation to engage people when it matters most. Chris also critiques traditional treatment incentives and emphasizes the need...
When Law Meets Lived Experience: Building Ethical Data Systems for Behavioral Health with Helen Oscislawski, Legal Counsel at Attorneys at Oscislawski LLC
<p>What if the biggest barrier to better behavioral health outcomes isn’t access to data, but how carefully we protect it?</p> <p>In this episode, Helen Oscislawski, a healthcare data privacy and interoperability attorney, explains that behavioral health and substance use data require stricter privacy protections due to their sensitivity and history of misuse, and are governed by laws such as 42 CFR Part 2. She highlights how modern interoperability and AI create new opportunities to share data more precisely, but also introduce greater legal and ethical risks. Updated regulations now allow more flexible data sharing to improve care coordination, wh...
Tribal Communities, Casinos, and Community Wellness with Davina Mena, Tribal Liaison for the Arizona Division of Problem Gambling
<p>Behavioral addictions like gambling are real behavioral health conditions, not character flaws, and they can hide in plain sight.</p> <p>In this episode, Davina Mena, Tribal Liaison for the Arizona Division of Problem Gambling, explains how behavioral addictions work and why gambling is often misunderstood, including how it can rewire the brain’s reward system much like substance use disorders. She describes how gambling addiction can surface at work through distraction, missed time, stress, and financial pressure, even when individuals appear high-functioning. Davina offers practical guidance for families and individuals, emphasizing empathy, healthy boundaries, honest self-checks, and awareness of...
The Real Reason Foster Youth Struggle To Access Care with Michelle Turner, founder and CEO of Here Now Health
<p>Stability and early mental health care are the biggest levers for improving outcomes for kids impacted by foster care.</p> <p>In this episode, Michelle Turner, founder and CEO of Here Now Health, shares how her experience as a foster parent revealed critical gaps in mental healthcare access for children and young adults in the child welfare system. She explains how placement instability, case manager turnover, and reliance on crisis care undermine long-term stability and permanency. Michelle explores why foster youth drive significantly higher Medicaid spending due to emergency interventions rather than preventive care, and how virtual, trauma-informed therapy...
