Technology revolutionizes maternal mental health by streamlining workflows, analyzing data, and improving care delivery and outcomes.

In this episode, Malekeh Amini, Founder & CEO at Trayt.Health and Dr. Nancy Byatt,  Executive Director of Lifeline for Family Center and Lifeline for Moms Program, share their groundbreaking work in maternal mental health, scaling systems-level approaches to improve access to care, and the crucial role of technology in supporting maternal mental health initiatives. They highlight the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Program developed by Dr. Byatt, which has become a model for programs across the nation and aims to increase access to mental health care for pregnant women and new mothers and has had significant success in Massachusetts. Throughout this interview, Malekeh and Nancy delve into the pivotal role of technology in supporting the work of maternal mental health, from streamlining workflows and data collection to providing valuable insights for program improvement and scalability. They also shed light on the progress at the state and federal level to support maternal mental health, including federal funding and policies specifically aimed at addressing maternal mental health and substance use disorders.

Tune in and learn from their inspiring journey and urgent call to action for transforming mental healthcare for families!

About Malekeh Amini:

Malekeh Amini is the Founder and CEO of Trayt, a healthcare software company dedicated to improving diagnosis and treatments in brain-based disorders, including Autism, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, substance use, and Alzheimer's, among others. Prior to Trayt, Malekeh was the Senior Vice President of Products & Business Development at Base Health, where she provided the vision connecting new breakthroughs in medical science to the needs of healthcare organizations and consumers. A former consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and the Parthenon Group, Malekeh has provided strategic, operational, and fundraising advice to healthcare and education organizations globally. Malekeh served on the fundraising Board of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Wings Learning Center in Redwood City. Malekeh has an M.B.A. from Harvard University. She earned her bachelor’s degrees in Communication Sciences (Cognitive Science) and computer science and her master’s in Systems Engineering at the University of Southern California.

About Nancy Byatt:

Dr. Byatt is a perinatal psychiatrist and physician-scientist focused on improving systems of care to promote the mental health of parents and children. Her passion for her work is deeply rooted in her experiences as a clinician, researcher, daughter, and mother. She is a Professor with Tenure of Psychiatry, OB/GYN, and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School. She developed the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP) for Moms. MCPAP for Moms is a statewide program that has 1) increased access to mental health care for thousands of perinatal individuals, 2) become a national model for perinatal mental health care, and 3) impacted state and national policies and funding. She is the Founding Executive Director of the Lifeline for Families Center and Lifeline for Moms Program at UMass Chan Medical School. The Center’s activities include capacity building, consultation, and research. Dr. Byatt’s research uses implementation science methods to design, implement, and evaluate scalable approaches for improving parental and child mental health services and outcomes. With over ten years of continuous federal funding for her research, Dr. Byatt’s achievements have led to over 90 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, over 250 presentations, and numerous national awards. Her love is her family, especially her two teenage boys. Her passion is increasing access to and the quality of mental health care. Her mission is to redefine perinatal and family healthcare to include mental healthcare.

Things You’ll Learn:

• Progress at both the state and federal levels demonstrates significant support for maternal mental health initiatives.
• Federal funding and grants are readily available for perinatal psychiatry access programs, with 29 programs currently operational nationwide.
• Technology plays a crucial role in streamlining workflows, analyzing data, and offering valuable insights into program effectiveness within maternal mental health initiatives.
• Technology serves as a catalyst for accelerating care delivery, measuring outcomes, and establishing benchmarks for high-quality maternal mental health services.
• The healthcare industry possesses the means to accelerate advancements in maternal mental healthcare, emphasizing the critical need to prioritize prevention and support for families to mitigate the intergenerational impact of mental health challenges.

Resources:

• Connect with and follow Nancy Byatt on LinkedIn.
• Connect with and follow Malekeh Amini on LinkedIn.
• Follow Trayt Health on LinkedIn and visit their website.

Follow UMass Chan Medical School on LinkedIn and visit their website.