Dr. Taft Parsons III, Chief Psychiatric Officer at CVS Health, has a clear observation: nearly one in four American adults experiences a mental health condition each year, yet many still can't get help when they need it. That gap between demand and delivery isn't just an access problem—it's a clinical one. In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, CVS Health is reframing how the nation thinks about behavioral health, arguing that the conversation must move beyond simply "Is care available?" to the harder question: "Is the care actually working?"
The shift matters because mental health care in the United States has historically lagged other medical fields in measuring quality and effectiveness. For decades, the system relied on proxy metrics—visit counts, claims data—that showed whether patients used care but revealed almost nothing about whether their symptoms improved. This gap has left clinicians and health systems flying blind, unable to distinguish between a treatment that helps and one that merely exists on paper. "Access alone isn't enough," Dr. Parsons explained in recent remarks. Claims data can confirm that care was delivered, but it offers limited insight into whether symptoms are improving or treatment is actually helping.
The workforce shortage adds another layer of complexity. While access to behavioral health services has improved in recent years, the availability remains uneven across communities, particularly for the most at-risk and underrepresented populations. Dr. Parsons emphasizes that access on paper—a provider listed in a directory—can feel entirely different to patients navigating real-world barriers: lack of transportation, unmet social needs, or simply the gap between what a provider list says exists and what a patient can actually reach. "It's critical to maintain a large network of providers, and we must also consider how patients are navigating to those providers," he noted.
CVS Health's approach centers on outcomes-based measurement, using clinically validated tools like the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, which track changes in depression and anxiety symptoms before and after treatment. Rather than stopping at "care was used," this method answers the question that matters most: Did the patient get better? This shift enables measurement-based care, supports population-level quality improvement, and gives clinicians real feedback about what's working.
When access and outcomes measurement work together, the system becomes more accountable and responsive. Patients connect to care faster. Clinicians get data-driven feedback that drives continuous improvement. Resources flow more strategically. And crucially, the entire behavioral health system gains the clarity it has long lacked.
"When patients can access care quickly—and when we measure whether that care works—we move closer to a behavioral health system that delivers on its promise for everyone," Dr. Parsons said. That promise has felt distant for too long. For millions of Americans struggling with depression, anxiety, and other conditions, the difference between a system that offers care and one that ensures that care actually helps is the difference between hope and continued suffering.