It is no secret that over the past two years businesses and organisations across the country have had to adapt their models to make considerations for the mental health of their workforce. However, to ensure that businesses can continue to support the wellbeing of their employee’s mental health, mental healthcare must be accessible for all.
With a shift in the dynamic of workforces over the past couple of years, we have seen a rise in hybrid working, and this, in turn, has made it harder for employers to keep track of employees’ wellbeing.
Mental healthcare has become more personalised than ever before. A greater focus has been put on ensuring that an individual’s needs are being catered to, regardless of their condition, gender, or age. With the use of integrated management systems and evidence-based tools, organisations can now follow the data and success of specific treatments through measurable results.
Self-management of mental health
Individuals can now track their own mental health. The use of mobile apps to set up medication reminders and the development of tools that monitor various aspects of health, such as heart rate, sleep patterns, gives people the ability to have a better grasp on their own personal symptoms and recognise ways to improve their mental wellbeing.
Implementing passive symptom tracking
Major developments are being made with smartphones and other forms of mobile technology, in using sensors that record social interactions, such as vocal tone and time spent on phone calls and texting, can determine an individual’s behaviour, and analyse their thinking in real time.
Recognising any changes in behaviour can be beneficial to an individual so that the right treatment can be provided.
Clinical assessments – fundamental to delivering digital healthcare
Clinical needs assessments undertaken remotely can determine specific treatments an individual may require, through research-based self-report questioning.
Organisations can also make use of independent medical assessments for their workforce, through the practice of independent psychiatric experts and occupational healthcare practitioners. Personalised and outcome-driven treatments are truly the way forward for businesses to create a pillar of support for their workforce.
Virtual therapy
Investing in cutting edge digital technology can help us to make life brighter for the people we support. It is essential to meet the mental health needs of thousands of people around the world.
Using technologies such as virtual therapy rooms, provides a safe, confidential, and convenient space for people to meet their therapist in a remote setting; an efficient form of healthcare that replicates the comfort and security of a physical in-person session.
Virtual therapy allows people to access treatment faster than ever before and from any location. An open form of collaboration between the individual and therapist can be established, monitoring mood, sleep and other habits that coincide with mental wellbeing. Therapists can then evaluate the methods used and treatments provided in each session.
The future of digital healthcare in the world of business
Digital healthcare and support have allowed organisations to equip themselves with vital training and raise awareness of the mental health of their workforce, and in this, the appropriate support and treatment can be provided.
Interventions in digital healthcare have increased accessibility and removed barriers that might prevent individuals from seeking mental health services. These services help alleviate the ever-growing demand for care on the NHS and help reduce workplace absenteeism and anxiety, while also offering support to businesses that have had to make a shift to hybrid working over the years.
Business leaders and board executives can establish an improved psychological workplace culture, through the work of clinical experts and practitioners by producing strategic reviews that help monitor workplace wellbeing.
It’s also important to remember that the digitisation of healthcare helps businesses offer a wide range of support through cognitive behavioural therapies, psychotherapy and psychiatric support, among many other forms of evidence-based therapy.
There is an even greater balance between traditional face-to-face treatment and remote treatment, mental health support is widely available in different forms. The digitisation of mental health helps to refine new interventions, by developing remote technology that is applicable to any mobile device.
There is a need for healthcare to be more innovative and tailored to the individual needs of the person, and with digital technology being at the forefront of this, businesses can see unprecedented success within their organisational wellbeing strategy, and in the health and wellbeing of the workforce.
