Telehealth expertise shapes behavioral healthcare board perspectives at major provider network.
Dr. Patrice Harris joined the Acadia Healthcare board of directors with dual expertise rarely found in behavioral health governance: decades of clinical psychiatry combined with digital healthcare platform development. Her role as CEO of eMed positions her at the intersection of traditional psychiatric practice and technology-enabled care delivery models.
The digital health company Harris co-founded launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing testing access barriers through a Digital Point-of-Care platform. eMed’s approach enables at-home healthcare testing supervised by certified guides through telehealth connections, eliminating geographical constraints that limit access to behavioral health services in rural areas. This experience directly applies to challenges facing Acadia Healthcare’s network of facilities spread across 40 states and Puerto Rico.
Behavioral health providers increasingly adopt telehealth modalities to address workforce shortages and expand service reach. Nearly half of adults with mental illness received no treatment in 2023, partly due to access barriers that digital platforms aim to reduce. Harris’s perspective on technology integration comes from operational experience building digital infrastructure rather than theoretical knowledge.
Her appointment to Acadia Healthcare coincided with broader industry discussions about balancing in-person intensive services with virtual outpatient options. The company operates 164 comprehensive treatment centers alongside acute psychiatric hospitals, creating potential applications for hybrid care models that Harris navigates daily through eMed.
Healthcare policy expertise adds another dimension to Harris’s board contributions. Her AMA leadership included work on health information technology standards and payment reform, areas increasingly relevant as behavioral health providers explore value-based care arrangements. State Medicaid programs implemented rate increases for behavioral health services across 34 states in fiscal year 2024, requiring provider organizations to navigate complex reimbursement structures.
Harris maintains visiting professor appointments at Columbia University’s Department of Psychiatry alongside her digital health and board roles, keeping clinical knowledge current while contributing governance perspective shaped by hands-on technology implementation experience.