Care Without Borders

Executive Summary

New Mexico faces intersecting challenges related to substance use, opioid use disorder (OUD), and mental health. State-level estimates show a large population affected by substance use disorders and mental illness, while treatment access remains shaped by more than the existence of services on paper. Distance, transportation, work and family responsibilities, continuity of care, and the practical burden of attending appointments can all influence whether treatment is realistically accessible.

This case study combines public New Mexico data with an anonymous Bright Heart Health (BHH) patient dataset containing 1,383 New Mexico records and anonymous patient feedback. The internal data demonstrate reach across 31 counties and multiple service categories, including OUD, SUD, mental health/therapy-related care, harm reduction, and other services. A substantial number of records reflect a combination of mental and physical health care rather than a single service line.

The patient feedback adds a human perspective to the state statistics. Across the interviews, patients repeatedly described flexibility, accessibility, compassionate care, recovery support, and the ability to fit treatment into family and work responsibilities. Together, the findings support the role of telemedicine as an access strategy that can bring behavioral health and substance use services closer to patients.

The Need in New Mexico: Substance Use and Mental Health

SAMHSA's New Mexico state-specific estimates for 2022–2023 provide important context for the need for integrated behavioral health and substance use services. An estimated 381,000 New Mexicans age 12 and older had a past-year substance use disorder, including an estimated 51,000 with opioid use disorder. Among adults age 18 and older, an estimated 404,000 experienced any mental illness.

These categories should not be interpreted as mutually exclusive. SAMHSA estimated that approximately 178,000 adults in New Mexico had both a substance use disorder and any mental illness during the same period. This overlap reinforces the importance of considering substance use and behavioral health care together rather than as entirely separate needs.

The Treatment Gap: Need Does Not Always Become Care

The treatment-access challenge is visible in New Mexico's substance use treatment estimates. Approximately 407,000 people age 12 and older were classified as needing substance use treatment in 2022–2023, while approximately 100,000 reported receiving treatment. An estimated 294,000 people classified as needing treatment were not receiving it.

These estimates do not mean that every person not receiving treatment was unable to find a provider. Treatment engagement is influenced by many factors, including readiness, affordability, stigma, availability, geography, transportation, scheduling, and continuity. However, the size of the treatment gap illustrates why expanding practical pathways to care remains important.

Access Is More Than Provider Availability

New Mexico's geography can make access especially important to consider. A treatment provider may exist somewhere in the state while still being difficult for a patient to reach consistently. Repeated travel, limited transportation, time away from work, caregiving responsibilities, and the challenge of coordinating multiple appointments can turn an available service into an inaccessible one.

SAMHSA's N-SUMHSS collects information on the characteristics, services, and locations of substance use and mental health treatment facilities. These data are useful for understanding infrastructure, but facility counts alone cannot determine whether a patient can obtain timely care, find an appropriate provider, use their insurance, or maintain treatment over time.

Why Telemedicine Matters

Telemedicine can reduce some of the practical barriers that separate a patient from care. For a parent, a working patient, or someone without reliable transportation, the ability to attend an appointment remotely may make treatment easier to initiate and sustain. The value is not simply convenience. In some circumstances, flexibility can directly support continuity.

“It’s been life-changing. I wasn’t sure that I would be able to find treatment that I can do with all 5 of my kids, but when I found this virtual clinic, it was… it was really life-changing.”

Bright Heart Health patient

Another patient described the accessibility benefit in practical terms, particularly for people who face transportation barriers.

“With the fact that it’s telehealth, it makes it super accessible, you know, for a lot of people who don’t have transportation.”

Bright Heart Health patient

Bright Heart Health: Reaching Patients Across New Mexico

The anonymous BHH dataset analyzed for this case study contained 1,383 New Mexico patient records. County information represented 31 of New Mexico's counties, demonstrating geographic reach beyond a single metropolitan area.

The source data include multiple program labels. OUD was the largest explicitly labeled category, followed by SUD-related services, mental health/therapy-related services, harm reduction, pain, and other categories. A substantial number of records reflect a combination of mental and physical health care.

Three Pathways to Care

OUD: Supporting Access and Continuity

OUD treatment often requires continuity. Disruptions in care can occur when patients move, travel, lose access to a previous provider, or cannot consistently attend appointments. A telemedicine model can help reduce geographic and scheduling barriers for eligible patients while supporting ongoing connection with a treatment team.

SUD: Meeting Patients Where They Are

Substance use treatment is not a one-size-fits-all pathway. Patients may need different levels of support at different times. The BHH dataset includes both outpatient and intensive outpatient SUD program labels, alongside other substance use-related services. A flexible care model can help reduce the logistical burden associated with engaging in treatment.

Therapy and Behavioral Health: Making Support Easier to Reach

Mental health care is also central to the broader access picture. New Mexico's state estimates show a substantial number of adults experiencing mental illness and a meaningful overlap between mental illness and SUD. Patient feedback highlights the value of care that can adapt to everyday responsibilities.

“It’s a flexible program that kind of meets you where you are, and is easy to fit into a busy schedule.”

Bright Heart Health patient

What Patients Say About Care

Care That Fits Family Life

One patient described the challenge of finding treatment while caring for a large family. The patient's experience illustrates how remote care may reduce the need to choose between attending treatment and meeting family responsibilities.

“It’s been really good, actually. It’s been life-changing.”

Bright Heart Health patient

Compassion Without Judgment

Access is not only geographic. The quality of the treatment relationship can influence whether patients feel safe continuing care. One patient emphasized the importance of being treated with respect.

“They’ve always been really friendly and understanding. And, never judgmental.”

Bright Heart Health patient

Support During Recovery

For another patient, treatment was closely connected with the experience of having a reliable support system during recovery.

“It’s just good to have people on your side when you’re going through recovery.”

Bright Heart Health patient

A Flexible Model for Busy Lives

Patients also described the importance of flexibility for work and other daily responsibilities.

“It’s easy to fit into a busy schedule.”

Bright Heart Health patient

Discussion: Patient Needs Met

The public data establish the scale of need in New Mexico: hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to experience substance use disorders or mental illness, and a substantial number of people who are classified as needing substance use treatment do not report receiving it. The internal BHH data then provide a program-level perspective, demonstrating patient reach across 31 counties and multiple service categories.

The patient interviews help explain why access cannot be measured only by counting providers or facilities. Patients described challenges related to children, transportation, busy schedules, and the need for a supportive, nonjudgmental treatment environment. Their experiences suggest that convenience is not a superficial benefit. For some patients, a care model that fits into daily life may be an important part of whether treatment is feasible at all.

Telemedicine does not eliminate every barrier and is not a replacement for every type of in-person care. The findings should therefore not be interpreted as proof that telemedicine alone caused recovery or clinical improvement. Instead, this case study presents telemedicine as one access pathway that may reduce practical barriers when virtual care is clinically appropriate and permitted.

Conclusion: Care Without Borders

New Mexico's behavioral health and substance use needs are significant, and the pathway to treatment is not always straightforward. The gap between treatment need and treatment received highlights the importance of making care not only available, but practical to access.

Bright Heart Health's New Mexico experience demonstrates a telemedicine model with reach across multiple counties and service pathways. The anonymous voices of patients reinforce the central finding of this case study: care becomes more accessible when it can fit into the realities of work, family, transportation, and daily life.

“It’s a flexible program that kind of meets you where you are.”

Bright Heart Health patient

Privacy and Methodology

All Bright Heart Health patient information used in this case study was analyzed in anonymous form for publication. No patient names, dates of birth, street addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, medical record numbers, or other direct identifiers are included. Patient statements are attributed only as “Bright Heart Health patient.” Highly specific combinations of characteristics and small geographic cells were avoided or aggregated where appropriate to reduce re-identification risk.

Internal data source: anonymous Bright Heart Health New Mexico patient dataset containing 1,383 records. Program categories shown in this report reflect the source dataset. OUD includes records explicitly labeled OUD; SUD includes records labeled SUD OP or SUD IOP; Mental Health/Therapy reflects records explicitly labeled MH. Records without a single program label are presented as a combination of mental and physical health.