Episode 4 - Market Drivers for Technology in Mental Health and Addictions Treatment

Transcript

Every president since Bill Clinton has tried to tackle the question of how to improve healthcare in America, but the government can’t seem to find its footing with a solution that pleases everyone.  But quietly, private enterprise has been advancing the ball in medical care by introducing new insurance models, concierge medicine and technology solutions to make access to healthcare more streamlined and cost effective.

These advances, driven by the private sector, are dropping the cost of accessing primary care, allowing people to get connected from the privacy of their home, and making it less likely that they will readmit after a stay in the hospital.  Unfortunately, the world of mental health and addictions treatment has not yet taken advantage of technology in the treatment process.  Addictions and mental health patients just don’t have access to the same digital experiences that streamline treatment, lower cost, and reduce the chances that they will readmit needing more acute care. 

In this audio journal, we will take a look at the drivers in the mental health and addictions treatment world that make having a technology strategy essential and not optional as we go into 2020.  Let’s look at what is going on in the marketplace that make incorporating technology into treatment an important trend. 

Number one is a severe shortage of treatment professionals.

The shortage of mental health professionals in the United States is a huge and growing problem, especially as the country continues to move towards realizing the importance of mental health treatment. In the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 people have some sort of mental health condition, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. A 2016 report released by the Health Resources and Services Administration projected the supply of behavioral health workers to be approximately 250,000 people short of the projected demand by 2025.  The bottom line is there are just not enough people to treat those that need it.  Technology has the potential to make the professionals that we do have more efficient and better able to treat more clients using solutions like telehealth appointments.

Unfortunately, the opioid crisis is driving demand

The need for more effective and accessible substance abuse treatment has increased with the opioid addiction epidemic, specifically in more rural areas.  The numbers are alarming.  It is estimated that over 10 million people in the US currently abuse opioids with 130 people dying each day from overdose.  And the crisis is more acute in remote areas that have many residents who been come addicted and need to be treated.  Unfortunately, those areas are less attractive to treatment professionals.  However, connecting to patients remotely with telehealth appointments or other virtual options allow the professional to be anywhere and have a conversation with a patient that needs their help, even in harder to reach areas.

Some patients just can’t get to a treatment professional.

Patients who have been treated and are recovering at home, patients who are not mobile because they lack adequate transportation, have lost their license, and who live in rural, remote areas often can’t make it to their appointments. As long as a patient has a way to connect to the internet, telehealth enables them to access therapists, recovery coaches and support groups.
 
 There is definitely a need to reduce stigma and increase privacy with some patients.
While there’s a broader acceptance that addiction is a disease that requires treatment and other mental health disorders often come with the landscape, stigma is still a problem for some patients.  Often, the shame and stigma associated with the disease is more crippling than the disease itself.  Access to treatment through tele