Latest / Becker’s Healthcare Podcast / Expanding Maternal Care Access with Partum Health with Meghan Doyle

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Expanding Maternal Care Access with Partum Health with Meghan Doyle · Becker’s Healthcare Podcast

• 0:01
  Every year, Becker's annual meeting brings health care
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  leaders together to unpack the most pressing issues
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  facing the industry.
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  And every year, those conversations shift in profound
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  and unexpected ways.
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  This April, more than 3,500
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  healthcare executives will return to Chicago
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  for Becker's sixteenth annual meeting.
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  Seven ninety five elite speakers will offer new
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  lessons,
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  new case studies, and predictions about what comes
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  next. Join us April 13 through the sixteenth.
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  For the agenda and event details,
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  visit beckershospitalreview.com
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  and click on the events tab in the
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  upper right.
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  This is Laura Dierda with the Becker's Healthcare
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  podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by
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  Megan Doyle, chief executive officer at Partum Health.
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  Megan, it's a pleasure to have you on
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  the podcast today. Excited to be here, Laura.
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  Thanks so much for having me. Absolutely. Well,
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  I'm excited for our conversation. And, you know,
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  I think there's a lot happening in the
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  health care space, and so it'll be great
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  to learn a little bit more about Partum
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  Health and how you're thinking about the future.
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  But before we dive in, can you tell
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  us a little bit more about yourself and
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  the organization?
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  Happy to. Yeah. So Partum Health is a
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  maternal and family care organization,
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  and our focus is really uniquely on
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  complementing the care that most families receive from
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  their OB and midwife with a range of
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  specialty support
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  that we know really helps improve outcomes
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  and,
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  creates a better patient experience.
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  And so that includes areas
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  that are are common gaps in the maternal
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  and family care experience, including
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  behavioral health support,
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  lactation,
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  nutrition,
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  physical therapy,
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  and also nonclinical
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  care, in the form of birth and postpartum
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  doula support.
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  We are definitely an organization that is
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  believes in blending,
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  the best of technology
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  with in person care. And so our model
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  is hybrid. We do a mix of virtual
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  and in person support and kind of wrap
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  everything with digital care navigation
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  to help make sure patients really are having
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  that frictionless experience and getting to access both
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  preventive and early intervention support in the areas
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  that we focus on.
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  And you also asked a little bit about
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  my background. So I've spent my career largely
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  on the business side of health care,
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  did a lot of work, with payer, provider,
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  and health services organizations,
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  a lot of that during my time at
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  Boston Consulting Group.
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  And then importantly,
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  I'm also a mom of two.
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  And so it's really that experience of starting
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  my own family that helped me identify
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  the opportunity to really better serve,
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  women and their families
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  when it comes to taking care of their
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  whole mental, emotional, and physical health.
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  I love that. That's such a needed service
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  and opportunities
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  for,
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  women, mothers, and families in order to, have
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  healthy and growing,
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  you know, within their own families and lives.
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  So that's great to hear.
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  I'm curious. Can you start off by talking
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  a little bit about an initiative that you've
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  led in the last year? What did you
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  do, and what were the results?
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  Yeah. 2025
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  was a a really big year for Partum.
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  We
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  historically have been serving
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  a mix of patients across different,
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  commercially insured
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  members. And then last year was our first
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  foray into serving patients with Medicaid.
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  So that expansion
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  was really fueled by some of the regulatory
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  changes that are happening in maternal care.
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  We've now moved over the last few years
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  from just a couple of states,
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  particularly providing
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  Medicaid coverage for doula care
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  to now,
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  more than 20 states,
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  where this is becoming
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  really part of the expected
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  and,
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  covered care that families can receive as they
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  go through their pregnancy and postpartum.
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  So for us, that was a a really
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  important opportunity
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  to,
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  move further in the direction of the mission
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  of the organization, which is really to elevate
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  the standard of care for every woman and
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  family,
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  no matter where they live or who pays
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  for their, health insurance
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  so that we're delivering a more consistent
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  kind of gold standard maternal care experience.
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  So for us, that's meant being one of
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  the first providers,
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  in our home state of Illinois to have,
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  you know, a large and growing number of
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  doulas who are providing care,
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  really in partnership with, MCOs, and we're contracted
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  with all the major MCOs here in Illinois.
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  And just the effort to really bring on
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  both the workforce,
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  and and this is a a brand new
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  provider type for a lot of Medicaid plans,
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  which means there's a lot of learning,
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  as you go through all of the,
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  you know, various pieces of credentialing and contracting
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  and, of course, care delivery as well.
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  So this has been a huge, you know,
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  part of our our last year is really
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  getting that inter entire service line, you know,
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  up and running to serve a a segment
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  of the population that, you know, not only
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  needs and deserves this support, but has also
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  shown in
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  a lot of research to really benefit in
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  a differentially positive way from getting that nonclinical
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  care from,
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  trained doulas
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  during their pregnancy, their labor and delivery, and
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  their postpartum.
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  Got it. That makes a lot of sense
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  and is, you know, helpful to understand
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  some of the actions you're being taken, especially
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  given I I know there's a lot of
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  changes in the health care environment around, you
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  know, health care and health care delivery and
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  access and insurance and,
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  especially in in the Medicaid population. So that's
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  helpful to see,
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  how you're able to work with them. Looking
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  ahead, what do you see as being some
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  of the big priorities and headwinds you're focused
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  on for 2026?
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  Yeah.
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  You know, like you said, there's a constant
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  ebb and flow and and sea of change
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  happening in health care. So we very much
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  are, you know, paying attention to both the
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  regulatory environment as well as, you know, practically
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  what's happening on on the ground in the
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  markets where we're serving patients.
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  For us, we,
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  particularly following this expansion to begin serving Medicaid
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  in addition to a commercially insured population,
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  we are forging really exciting partnerships
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  with health systems
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  that are allowing their patients to really experience
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  more of an
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  end to end model of care that blends
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  what they might be getting in clinic and
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  in the hospital
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  with the type of support that they might
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  be receiving
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  from an organization like Partum virtually
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  in home,
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  you know, outside the four walls of the
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  clinic.
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  So we have a couple of partnerships that
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  we were working on in 2025
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  that we are,
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  we haven't yet announced. So stay tuned for
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  the the, you know, exact
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  models and the names, but there's really innovative
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  things coming to market.
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  I think the foundation for that is, you
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  know, whether you're running an OB GYN service
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  line and, you know, seeing the need of
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  your patients or
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  you're more in the, you you know, digital
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  virtual care environment.
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  You know, we all see there's such a
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  need to really step up the level of
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  support that patients,
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  have access to and have access to through
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  their insurance.
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  So it's really exciting. We're gonna be bringing
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  what we call kind of an embedded model
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  of care in partnership with health systems so
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  that there's a lot more continuity between what
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  patients are
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  getting in their communities, in their homes,
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  alongside that traditional care that they are getting,
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  you know, inside a labor and delivery unit.
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  So for us, that's one of the big
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  opportunities that we're very focused on for 2026.
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  You also asked about headwinds, and I think,
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  you know, we can't talk about women's health
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  without, bringing up some of the challenges that
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  persist
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  when it comes to reimbursement
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  in the space.
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  You know, there's been really,
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  really helpful research in the last couple of
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  years that's shown
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  a lot of the starting point for reimbursement,
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  you know, for women's health procedures even relative
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  to a similar,
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  procedure for men. We we tend to be
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  reimbursing at lower rates.
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  We see service lines where we're treating
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  women, you know, as a result,
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  often having more financial constraints.
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  And so one of the things that, you
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  know, we're really focused on is ensuring that
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  the care we're providing is absolutely
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  demonstrating
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  value to the patient in terms of those
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  improved outcomes.
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  And also thinking both about
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  cost as well as continuing
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  to
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  really,
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  you know, fight for improve the value for
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  more equitable reimbursement
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  in the field.
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  So for us, that's probably both, you know,
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  a big part of the opportunity. And, also,
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  we recognize that we're we're starting from a
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  little bit of a disadvantage when it comes
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  to the the reimbursement
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  for
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  a lot of women's health procedures
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  and services relative to,
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  to men's or to other areas, service line
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  areas,
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  where women's health often has to kind of
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  get creative with how we're we're funding and
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  how we're demonstrating,
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  value in terms of cost reduction too.
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  So that's those are our two big priorities
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  for '26 is really focusing on deepening those
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  health system
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  partnerships and the innovative care that we're able
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  to provide in in partnership with our larger
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  health systems,
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  health system partners, and then also being mindful
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  of those reimbursement challenges.
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  I love that. That's so
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  helpful to understand how you're thinking about things
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  and certainly,
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  you know, having those types of priorities,
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  is so important, especially as you get more
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  into thinking about value, thinking about payment. Every
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  dollar is critical in health care and very,
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  very precious. And so,
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  that's really cool to see and think about
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  how you're bringing together both, you know, the
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  current,
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  seeing people in person, seeing people digitally, and
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  and really,
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  opening up and broadening those access points.
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  What do you think will be the hardest
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  thing you'll have to do in the coming
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  year?
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  Yeah. It's,
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  a great question. And building on what I
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  mentioned before, you know, one of the key
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  areas of of growth and expansion for us
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  has been focusing
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  on serving women and families with nonclinical support
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  from,
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  birth and postpartum doulas.
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  And it's a really exciting opportunity
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  to be kind of at the forefront of
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  that adoption,
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  a new provider type, a new form of
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  reimbursement that's coming online for both, patients with
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  Medicaid as well as,
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  in many states, families with commercial insurance are
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  are now,
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  will have access as legislation is being passed
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  to ensure that, you know, doula care kind
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  of falls under that umbrella of covered covered
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  support.
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  The challenging part is that it is a
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  a part of the health care ecosystem that
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  really,
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  doesn't have the same type of infrastructure
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  as many other provider types.
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  And so for us, part of the challenge
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  is,
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  being able to build that infrastructure.
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  So bringing new provider types that,
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  you know, don't have the same kind of
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  training credentials.
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  We have states standing up individual
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  approaches to credentialing
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  these providers in different states.
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  And so it's this dual challenge of being
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  able to both serve patients, to be in
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  market, delivering care,
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  and kind of building and navigating the infrastructure
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  needs for an entirely new part of the
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  workforce,
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  and doing that in parallel. So we're always
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  thinking about both how do we set up,
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  the long term
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  needs for our patients and knowing that we
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  have a huge opportunity to continue to build
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  the supply
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  as well as to build, you know, the
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  technology, the support, the administrative excellence that
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  is needed to really integrate,
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  a more holistic approach to maternal care
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  with, you know, serving patients who need and
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  deserve that help today. So that's probably our
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  big challenge for this year is how do
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  we balance those two things and and kind
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  of keep them moving in concert together.
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  Absolutely. I,
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  love that and and definitely, you know, curious,
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  from your perspective, when you look at those
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  two challenges and think about
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  a patient's and the infrastructure needs from the
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  health care establishment, you know, is there anything
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  new or different that you're going to,
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  try in the next twelve, twenty four months
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  or so to, continue to,
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  you know, meet the needs and and the
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  demands of the market?
• 12:46
  Yeah. It's interesting. I think
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  this is an area where we have a
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  lot of opportunity
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  to really rapidly test and learn,
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  and a big part of that for us
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  is to develop and and deploy new care
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  models.
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  So that means,
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  you know, what has historically been,
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  patients very much
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  driving and saying, okay. My my friend told
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  me that I need to worry about and
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  think about my pelvic floor and, you know,
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  okay. I scored high on this screening. I'm
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  gonna go find care. It's really about how
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  to help patients
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  navigate that in a more proactive
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  fashion
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  and to build a care model that kind
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  of anticipates those needs from a patient
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  rather than waiting for them to raise their
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  hand or be in a crisis moment when
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  they're seeking that support.
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  And so for us, that's the the thing
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  we're continually innovating on is how do we
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  both educate patients, make them aware, and also
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  build
• 13:46
  kind of expectations
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  or routines around care,
• 13:50
  that align and, you know, allow us to
• 13:53
  be sustainable
• 13:54
  financially while getting patients this proactive support that
• 13:57
  they need.
• 13:58
  So some of the things that we're thinking
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  about on on that patient experience side is
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  whether we can,
• 14:04
  for example, standardize more proactive,
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  even very brief,
• 14:10
  engagement with patients to be able to introduce
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  them to
• 14:13
  kind of the one zero one of perinatal
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  mental health as an example
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  rather than it being, you know, solely relied
• 14:20
  on needing a pull when somebody has a
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  diagnosis. It's really how do we design,
• 14:25
  technology and patient engagement and communication such that
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  we're
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  enabling them to take a much more proactive
• 14:31
  approach,
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  you know, to their care. And that's one
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  of the really exciting things that we see,
• 14:37
  coming out of our partnerships with health systems
• 14:39
  is they're really keen to make sure that
• 14:41
  every patient knows about and has access to,
• 14:45
  the support services that we know can make
• 14:47
  a really meaningful difference in in their end
• 14:50
  outcomes by helping them reduce complications,
• 14:53
  avoid,
• 14:55
  you know, injury and,
• 14:57
  lingering health,
• 14:59
  outcomes that can really
• 15:01
  not only impact the immediate postpartum period, but
• 15:04
  really have an impact on a woman and
• 15:06
  her family for for years to come.
• 15:09
  Absolutely. I love that. I I think that
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  is so helpful to hear about it, know
• 15:14
  those things are in the works, and, you
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  know, that postpartum period is so critical,
• 15:19
  for so many families.
• 15:20
  Now anything else you'd like to talk about
• 15:22
  before we wrap up here in terms of
• 15:24
  growth? Where are some of the other opportunities
• 15:26
  that you're seeing in ways that the organization
• 15:28
  is looking to expand?
• 15:30
  Yeah. I think the, really exciting part of
• 15:34
  what I mentioned before about the way that
• 15:35
  we're working hand in hand
• 15:38
  with health systems, with inpatient units,
• 15:40
  you know, that is a
• 15:42
  a key focus for us going forward because
• 15:45
  it allows us to really
• 15:47
  not just address the needs of patients who,
• 15:50
  you know, happen to find us, but also
• 15:52
  to create
• 15:53
  a much more,
• 15:55
  standard experience for patients
• 15:58
  in some of these areas where they may
• 16:00
  not have awareness
• 16:01
  around, you know, what is my pelvic floor,
• 16:04
  why should I see a PT,
• 16:06
  or just the common,
• 16:08
  occurrence that is that, you know, perinatal mood
• 16:11
  and anxiety disorders, how commonly they occur,
• 16:13
  and therefore, why, you know, preventive therapy might
• 16:16
  be of of benefit for them. So for
• 16:19
  us, we we are really focused in the
• 16:22
  coming year on deepening those relationships, on building
• 16:25
  new partnerships.
• 16:27
  And it's something actually even at the, you
• 16:29
  know, last Becker's event that we were at.
• 16:31
  We heard so much openness and excitement from
• 16:34
  health system partners who are also recognizing
• 16:37
  there's so much opportunity to engage with patients
• 16:41
  outside the four walls of their clinics, of
• 16:43
  their hospital, and really looking for innovative ways
• 16:46
  that they can partner with,
• 16:48
  with startups, with health tech organizations that are
• 16:51
  are really
• 16:52
  innovative
• 16:54
  and complementary
• 16:55
  to that traditional care system. So for us,
• 16:58
  that's a big focus in the coming year
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  is is really finding more of those partners
• 17:02
  who wanna bring that really innovative experience to
• 17:06
  women and families, and they recognize the importance
• 17:09
  of this health care consumer, this health care
• 17:11
  decision maker,
• 17:13
  and wanna be delivering that that kind of
• 17:15
  gold standard around this really important moment
• 17:19
  of building their family, of, you know, starting
• 17:22
  to decide, okay, this is where we're gonna
• 17:24
  go for care.
• 17:25
  So that's probably for us, you know, the
• 17:27
  biggest opportunity that we see is is just
• 17:30
  taking this type of support to
• 17:32
  more patients and doing that in a way
• 17:34
  that really works hand in hand with the
• 17:36
  care that they're already receiving,
• 17:39
  you know, from systems on the ground.
• 17:42
  I love that. Thank you, Megan, so much
• 17:44
  for joining us on the podcast today. This
• 17:45
  has been such a fantastic and informative discussion,
• 17:48
  and I look forward to connecting with you
• 17:50
  again soon.
• 17:51
  Wonderful. Thanks so much, Laura.