8 Trends, Challenges, and Expectations for Digital Health Solutions in Behavioral Health

In Brief: We surveyed CHIME members to understand how they’re using digital health solutions in mental health care delivery. Here’s what they told us.

The behavioral health (BH) service line has embraced and been an early adopter of digital health solutions. In April 2023, ECG surveyed the membership of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) to assess current utilization trends, challenges, and future expectations for digital health solutions in BH delivery in the United States.^[]

Here are eight key takeaways from the survey.

. Reasons for Investment:

Addressing staffing shortages and expanding access to rural and underserved populations are the primary reasons why organizations are investing in digital health for BH services.

2. Preferred Digital Health Use Cases:

While organizations are using digital health tools to support multiple functionalities, rendering patient visits using telehealth is the prevalent use case.

3. Point Solutions and EHR Integration:

Nearly half the organizations surveyed deploy BH services through third-party vendor technology solutions. However, having access to the patient data within the core EHR platform is a key goal, with 74% of survey participants indicating that their BH digital solutions are fully or somewhat integrated with their EHR.

4. Privacy:

Organizations are equally split between an opt-in or opt-out option for patient data sharing in their digital health solutions.

5. Health Equity:

Of respondents, 79% are capturing data through BH digital health solutions to measure health equity or address social determinants of health.

6. Future Utilization:

90% of organizations are forecasting increased utilization of digital health solutions for behavioral health care delivery over the next five years.

7. Digital versus Physical Space Investment:

63% of organizations reported prioritizing the deployment/expansion of digital health solutions for BH over physical space expansion. Also, 37% have seen a reduction of on-site volume due to an increase in digital health utilization.

8. Post-PHE Challenges:

Following the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE), respondents see all of the following as challenges to continuing to provide virtual BH services:

• Reduced insurance coverage
• Restrictive payer policies
• Reduced reimbursement levels
• Exacerbated provider shortages

Digital technologies, such as telehealth, have reduced some access barriers, but much work remains to address ongoing challenges related to privacy, staffing, equity, and integrated care delivery.

_{Edited by: Matt Maslin}

Published May 31, 2023