Retention

Treatment retention refers to whether people stay engaged in and adhere to their care plan, and it is one of the strongest predictors of both clinical and financial outcomes across the care ecosystem. Dropout is common across behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment alike, and patients who stay engaged longer face substantially better outcomes, including lower mortality. The costs of poor retention extend well beyond any one organization: treatment providers lose revenue with every early dropout, health plans absorb higher medical costs from repeated crises and readmissions, and public sector systems face added pressure on already-strained support services, driving up costs to society as a whole.

Digital tools are proven to extend engagement between appointments, resulting in improved retention. For providers, health plans, employers, and public sector organizations, strengthening retention and care plan adherence is both a clinical imperative and a financial one.

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