Froedtert & MCW Driving Improvement in Mental Health Through Digital Tools
Jay Burns & Brad Crotty
During the last year, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network has continued to expand the digital tools we use to support our patients. Our online behavioral health tool (powered by Silvercloud), has grown considerably in the scope of issues to which it helps patients apply cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills. We began with three options for Froedtert & MCW patients; Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Since launching in 2017 over 3,000 people have used the tool to improve their mood and develop healthy behaviors.
Improvement in Depression and Anxiety
Earlier this year, we published a peer-reviewed article in Healthcare: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation highlighting how our digital mental health program works and the results we have seen. After the tool is prescribed, we see about half of of patients proceeding to engage with the program. With a team of MCW medical students and analysts, supported by the Collaborative for Healthcare Delivery Science, we identified an approximate 20% improvement in anxiety and depression scores among program participants.
Expansion and New Programs
We are happy to announce that we have three new options for patients seeking to improve their lives. Program for Insomnia, Program for Chronic Pain, and Program for Diabetes Management are all now live and can be prescribed to patients who may need to reframe how they approach their illnesses. In addition to these options, Financial Worries is a new bonus module that is now included in every activation. If you ever work with a patient who is worried because they recently lost a job, have surprise expenses, or are struggling with gambling this new option may be exactly what they need.
Help During the Pandemic
Looking at the 2020 numbers side by side with 2019 we can see that enrollment was higher every single month of 2020. Our mental health program is obviously meeting a need for patients who are managing the added stresses of the pandemic.
As we have been monitoring our patients with COVID-19 at home, we have also been referring appropriate patients into our online behavioral health programs.
How to Enroll
In Epic, open the “Digital Care” Activity. We recommend pinning this to your list of tabs in the ambulatory navigator screens. If a patient has a PHQ-9 score above 3, a BPA will be displayed with one click to open the digital care activity.
For More Information
Check out a webinar that we participated in as part of HLTH.
