What are the biggest mistakes employers make when introducing digital mental health solutions?
Employers recognize the need to provide employees with comprehensive mental health support, but engaging them with digital solutions is often a challenge.
That's why during a panel discussion at the Behavioral Health Technology Conference in San Diego, BenefitsPro Editor-in-Chief Paul Wilson posed this question: What are the biggest mistakes employers make when introducing digital mental health solutions? How can they avoid these mistakes?
One of the panellists, Erin Young, head of mental health for health, equity and wellbeing at WTW, believes some employers are overreacting. This is especially true during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to many employers proposing solutions without fully understanding whether this is the best solution for their employees.
She added that some employers have adopted the same solutions as their competitors, assuming they should do the same, but these approaches don't always resonate with their own employees.
“You need to look internally and see what data points and information you have that tells you that a solution like this is going to be well adopted or well used,” Young said. “That's the first step in understanding: Is this the right thing to do? Is it for the right population that we need? Any solution you come up with is not going to impact 100 percent of the population, but you have to determine what is good enough based on the investment and what you want to do?”
Additionally, Young said there is a lack of communication and awareness about digital mental health tools in the workplace.
“If you put something out, people won't know,” she said. “They don't have a crystal ball, they can't read minds. So if they can't get that information in a physical location, on a website, in ease of consumption and use, they can't find it, and that's going to prevent any use and adoption.”
Another panelist suggested that the idea of a “digital front door” in healthcare—which can direct patients to multiple digital health solutions from the same access point—may need to be re-evaluated.
He asked the audience to imagine their house, to think of the last door they entered, their children entered, their neighbors entered.
“I guess it could be [that] “Your kids come in through the garage door, you drive into the garage, the salesperson shows up at the front door, your neighbor comes in the side door,” said Chris Carey, senior vice president and general manager at Calm Health. “I think for a long time in health care, especially digital health, we've tried to build the front door and assume that everyone is going to walk in the front door.
“I think the biggest failure is that people will get in the door that they need at that moment,” he continued. “We need to make sure we build a structurally sound house, and if someone goes into Calm for mental health but then we find out they have back pain and the employer can use a sword or a hinge, I need to figure out how to get them there. Because I think we've seen that the front door doesn't work.”
Photo credit: Olga Strelnikova, Getty Images
