A new statewide platform in Delaware aims to change the game when it comes to behavioral healthcare.
For years, the state saw behavioral health challenges like increased demand for treatment, gaps in specialized services and an unreliable referral process. After implementing an electronic referral system in 2018, the state wanted to expand its efforts with a broader care coordination platform.
Since last month, that new platform has been in action: DTRN360. Developed by health tech company Bamboo Health, the platform connects providers with real-time patient data to improve care transitions and communication. The platform integrates into provider workflows to help them identify the best next step in care, manage referrals—including to social services—and view shared treatment history.
The platform is “both practical for providers and valuable for policymakers,” Michelle Singletary-Twyman, director of operations at the Delaware Division of Substance Abuse & Mental Health, said in an emailed comment. “The result is a system that eases administrative burden, strengthens transparency and delivers actionable data for long-term planning.”
Over 180 organizations are participating. DTRN360 has already facilitated 250,000 referrals to appropriate care sites, with 80% of follow-up referral appointments kept. This suggests patients are actually getting into care, Bamboo executives say. Data also indicate that organizations are responding more quickly to referrals. One psychiatric hospital in the state has seen a 98% improvement in its referral response time, per executives.
“The information is real-time that’s coming in, and you’re catching these individuals when they’re most vulnerable and they’re looking for help,” Jeff Smith, CEO of Bamboo Health, told Fierce Healthcare.
The platform gives providers confidence that people are being connected to the services they need, Singletary-Twyman said.
“Providers have shared stories where individuals who had repeatedly cycled through emergency departments were successfully connected to treatment programs, with transportation arranged the same day," she said.
In addition to supporting daily workflows, the platform offers the state an analytics tool. Early referral data indicate where people were going and where gaps exist. For instance, an analysis of declined referrals identified issues in caring for the aging population, Singletary-Twyman explained.
The next planned steps for the platform will be expanding adoption, deepening integration with health systems and strengthening data exchange to support value-based care and population health management. The vision is to continue to evolve the platform as a national model for the work.
“I absolutely think it is a blueprint that other counties and states can replicate,” Smith said.
The platform's creation is also timely. States are currently applying for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Fund that was created by President Trump and the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act. One of the ways states can use program funds is for behavioral health support—CMS said states should consider the sustainability of the initiative and key stakeholders needed for success in their applications. Technology will be paramount to those efforts, Smith said.
“This funding is designed to back technology-driven solutions that improve access, reduce avoidable utilization and ease workforce strain,” Smith said. “That’s exactly what Bamboo is delivering today in Delaware—proving out a model that other states can adopt. By building on existing infrastructure and layering in innovation, states can accelerate impact without having to reinvent the wheel.”
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Bamboo was formed in 2021 after a merger of two health tech companies, PatientPing and Appriss Health. Today, it partners with retail pharmacies, payers, hospitals and states, integrating with 130 systems nationwide. It has several products, including a platform for crisis management and a prescription monitoring solution. Organizations that use Bamboo include Tufts Medicine, Privia Health and CareSource.
Bamboo claims its platform helps reduce unnecessary readmissions and utilization and improve behavioral care coordination. It surfaces real-time insights into a patient’s care journey, including admissions, discharges and transfers, justice-involved events, prescriptions and dispensations. It also tracks outcomes and referrals.
To date, Bamboo’s platform has powered 20% fewer ED visits, 42% fewer readmissions and engagement rates over 60%, as advertised on its site. Bamboo has 3 billion patient encounters annually across the U.S.
Bamboo is currently in active conversations with several other states to possibly deploy a similar integrated behavioral health platform. “It’s such a need for our country to help these vulnerable, high-cost individuals to get to the next step,” Smith said. “We have to help connect the dots.”