How Digital Healthcare Can Transform Behavioral Health

These days, we use digital tools for everything from listening to music and paying our bills to buying homes and booking travel arrangements. Of course, healthcare is no exception. While digital platforms enabling telemedicine aren’t exactly new, usage is at an all-time high. More recently, digital technology tools have arrived for behavioral health, moving an industry that has historically been dependent on face-to-face interactions forward into the digital age.‍

Why the need for digital behavioral healthcare?‍

Mental Health America paints a bleak picture in its most recent version of “The State of Mental Health in America.” In that publication, the community-based nonprofit writes, “The percentage of adults with a mental illness who report unmet need for treatment has increased every year since 2011.” Further, Mental Health America notes people looking for help with feelings of anxiety and depression have soared during COVID-19. Other studies from groups like the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found the prevalence of sleep and eating issues during the pandemic have been alarmingly high.

At the same time, substance use disorders have spiked nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC noted that during the earliest months of the pandemic, adults across the country reported decreased mental health and a higher level of substance use than previously. 

That trend has largely continued in the months since. In fact, the American Psychological Association reports that overdoses increased nearly 20% in 2020 over the previous year. 

COVID-19 has also made it more difficult for individuals undergoing treatment for substance use to access treatment. Many treatment programs temporarily closed during the early months of the pandemic, while others cut back on services. 

Luckily, digital behavioral health is helping to close the gap by enabling personalized care from the comfort of a patient’s home. This reduces barriers like driving, scheduling, and the fear of encountering someone the patient might know, a common deterrent among those afraid to begin behavioral health treatment. ‍

How digital behavioral healthcare is being used‍

In a piece on digital mental health ecosystems, Psychiatric Times delved deeper into the use of smartphone apps. 

According to the publication, mental health apps essentially fall into several different categories. 

The first are wellness apps that support the building of skills like mindfulness. These are widely available to the public and can be used in conjunction with professional treatment.  

The next category is those that are “digital therapeutic apps that…reliably meet clinically benchmarked metrics.” These can include apps designed and built by behavioral health providers to help their clients practice skills learned in CBT and other forms of therapy. 

Another category are apps that utilize talk or chat therapy to deliver virtual mental health treatment. 

Finally, apps like PainScript are designed to facilitate communication by allowing patients to initiate a report their symptoms, provide a physician with actionable clinical data about their health and provide real-time information on their usage of medication for substance use disorder treatment to their providers. 

While apps can play a vital part in a patient’s quest for improved mental health, not all apps are created equal. That’s why the American Psychiatric Association has developed an app evaluation model that guides patients through the process of app selection. Included in that evaluation are questions like, “Does the app come from a trusted source?” and “Does the app have a clinical/recovery foundation relevant to your intended use?” 

This is another benefit of the PainScript approach, which allows a physician’s practice to “white label” the app with their logo.  Using a white-labeled app like PainScript will lead to an enhanced patient experience, increase trust that their daily communication is clearly with their physician, and make it more likely the patient will use the technology. ‍

The promise of digital behavioral health technology‍

The American Hospital Association (AHA) refers to digital technology as “an emerging opportunity to address Americans’ growing behavioral health needs and the shortage of providers.” On its website, AHA highlights six specific use cases for digital behavioral health technology, including advanced screening and triage, teletherapy, network management, telepsychiatry, patient self-care, and care coordination and management.

Most importantly, digital services and virtual care have been routinely proven to be as effective as in-person care, with high patient satisfaction and HIPAA-compliant processes.‍

PainScript is proud to be part of the digital behavioral health ecosystem‍

Providers can use the PainScript digital healthcare platform to organize and manage patient-submitted data on their symptoms and care plan adherence. Access to that data can significantly improve care plan and medication management, facilitating better outcomes for patients and a more streamlined process for providers. To learn more, request a demo today.