Montana-based telehealth provider to evaluate NIH-funded platform connecting primary care providers with cognitive specialists

Rural and underserved populations face significant barriers to specialty cognitive care, and this project directly addresses that challenge.”
— Nathan Bell, MD

BILLINGS, MT, UNITED STATES, December 12, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Frontier Psychiatry has been selected to lead the pilot study evaluating BrainCheck eConsult, an innovative web-based platform designed to connect primary care providers with cognitive specialists.

BrainCheck, the leading FDA Class II digital cognitive assessment and care platform, was awarded a $500,000 SBIR Phase I grant (R43AG094410) from the National Institutes of Health to develop and evaluate the eConsult tool.

Nathan Bell, MD, of Frontier Psychiatry will direct the pilot study to evaluate the platform in real-world clinical practice. The research represents Frontier Psychiatry's continued commitment to expanding access to specialty behavioral health services in underserved communities through technology-enabled care models.

"Rural and underserved populations face significant barriers to specialty cognitive care, and this project directly addresses that challenge," said Dr. Bell. "We're proud to bring our expertise in telehealth delivery to help validate a solution that could meaningfully improve outcomes for patients showing early signs of memory decline."

The BrainCheck eConsult platform enables secure, asynchronous communication between primary care providers and specialists including neurologists, geriatricians, and psychiatrists. By facilitating rapid consultations without requiring immediate in-person referrals, the platform aims to close the gap between cognitive screening and specialty evaluation, a particularly pressing need in rural areas where specialist access is limited.

Frontier Psychiatry's involvement builds on the organization's track record of leveraging telehealth to deliver high-quality behavioral health services across Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. The company's outcomes-driven approach, validated by peer-reviewed research published in JAMA Network Open, positions it well to assess the clinical utility of the eConsult platform.

The NIH funding will support design, development, and feasibility testing over the next year, with Katherine Carroll Britt, PhD, MSN, RN, from the University of Iowa leading qualitative research for platform co-design.

About Frontier Psychiatry
Frontier Psychiatry is a telehealth behavioral health and addiction services platform serving patients across Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. Founded in 2020, the company delivers comprehensive psychiatric care to rural and underserved populations, with published research demonstrating 38% lower hospitalization rates compared to standard care.

About BrainCheck
BrainCheck is an FDA Class II–cleared digital platform for cognitive assessment and care, used by over 500 healthcare organizations nationwide, including Bon Secours, UPMC, and Springfield Clinic. Clinicians use BrainCheck's validated screeners and care planning tools to create tailored protocols, completing more than 400,000 cognitive assessments to date. BrainCheck is not intended for use as a stand-alone diagnostic tool.

Eric Arzubi, MD
Frontier Psychiatry
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