A call for outcomes transparency and reporting
CONCORD, Mass., May 8, 2023 - Alea Diagnostics ("Alea"), a company that enables child development monitoring by parents using the Lorestry app and companion baby/child development progression reports, wants to amplify and engage the parent voice in determining the value of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) interventions.
There is a huge demand for ABA as the number of children in need of care surges. A fragmented industry with more than 1,600 for-profit and non-profit organizations nationwide, the U.S. autism treatment market was valued at $4.1 billion in 2021 (ABA costs payers an average of $62,000 - $250,000 per child per year).
"ABA interventions are time-sensitive and a lack of access to quality care can have lifelong health and financial consequences for a child and family. Lorestry empowers and engages parents as active participants in data gathering for decision-making. Parents receive a private data set they control and can use to their child's and family's best interests," said Linda Craib, RN founder of Alea.
Measures such as the Autism Set developed by global experts at the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) includes a holistic, person-centered approach to how value is measured, and sets new standards for everyone.
"As a parent who experienced ABA, I feel strongly that outcome measurement and reporting should occur independent of ABA providers to avoid a financial conflict of interest. I'm glad to see that quality standards are being established. Parents should expect transparency from ABA providers about their outcome claims, and the complexity of children they serve. We need independent outcomes reporting that includes an autism case mix index incorporating comorbidities and the social determinants of health."
Craib, a neonatal and pediatric Registered Nurse, was part of a group of pioneering mothers who fought for ABA for their young children in the 1990s which led to national payment reforms. She prevailed in an early civil rights complaint related to ABA, and went on to lead the U.S. children's healthcare practice at Deloitte. Her consulting work focused on children's care redesign within a value-based framework including clinical effectiveness, the parent experience of care, and child health outcomes measurement.
About Lorestry
Lorestry engages parents as health historians, storytellers, and collaborative partners for real-time observational data gathering. The company provides parents with their own data set, and offers limited advertising and co-marketing opportunities to select child health brands.
SOURCE Alea Diagnostics, Inc.
