Digital health solutions have become table stakes for employers today as they require flexible and scalable solutions to increasing organizational costs and decreasing employee productivity.
While that benefit has traditionally concentrated on the management of chronic conditions and improved access to care, the focus has more recently turned to mental healthcare, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 exacerbated an already massive mental health epidemic: consumers across the globe are living with increased levels of anxiety, stress and depression. After analyzing de-identified data from Teladoc Health’s mental health solution during the pandemic (March 2020 to March 2021), we found that anxiety-related repeat visits grew an average of 691% year over year, and depression-related repeat visits grew an average of 435% year over year.
And like physical health, mental health can have a direct impact on employee productivity and overall costs. In fact, a
Read more:
When it comes to building out a benefits package and evaluating medical plan design for 2022 and beyond, the inclusion of virtual mental healthcare is a no brainer, but how can employers be confident they are choosing the best solution for their employees?
Not all mental health solutions are created equal
There is no question consumers today are seeing the value and benefit from virtual mental healthcare. A new
But access to mental healthcare is just the start. Every individual is different, and requires their own, individualized, and continuously tailored approach to care.
Some may need in-the-moment help and might prefer a ‘self-service’ approach, which can be met with digital content customized to their specific needs. Others may want or need a more ‘hands-on’ approach for their mental healthcare or may need clinical intervention, in which case access to board-certified psychiatrists and licensed psychologists and therapists is necessary.
As life changes, so do the challenges that employees need to address, making it all the more necessary for a solution that both allows for different levels of care and offers consumers the ability to navigate on their own terms.
Read more: W
Knowing this, employers should consider a flexible and comprehensive virtual program for emotional health to deal with life’s evolving changes. More than just giving employees a simple place to start, it’s providing employees with a complete range of tools to suit individual preferences.
Just one piece of the whole-person puzzle
It’s equally important for employers to remember that, while vital for today’s environment, mental health is only one part of whole-person healthcare. In fact, 70% of mental health patients also have a medical comorbidity. When individuals suffering from physical issues also have mental health conditions, their costs are two- to-three times greater than those without mental health concerns.
Recognizing that the two are often intertwined, employers would be wise to look beyond point solutions for individual use-cases, and instead focus on providing a solution that looks at the whole-person and can help individuals across the full spectrum of care — from acute medical care to longitudinal medical care and mental healthcare.
Tying it all together
A holistic and simple point of engagement for employees’ needs is not just a convenient and improved consumer experience. It also drives utilization and, ultimately, clinical — and financial — value.
Read more:
The same
When evaluating virtual mental health services as part of an overall benefits package, two things are clear. First, the solution needs to connect the full range of mental health services from apps to clinicians so that people can access timely help, tailored to their needs and on their terms, even as they change over time. Second, it needs to meet the dual consumer needs of comprehensive mental health care and a simplified experience in one service.
