Technology
Reshaping EAPs with digital technology
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) improve the lives of employees and the productivity of companies.
For example, engagement with an EAP leads to a 46 percent decrease in absenteeism; a 13 percent decrease in work distress; and a 20 percent increase in life satisfaction, according to one EAP trends report.
Digital technology: Friend or foe to mental health?
It’s clear that digital technology – especially in the form of social media – is here to stay.
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – these are all household words by now. Digital technology has engaged healthcare as well; electronic health records, health apps and websites have ramped up the capacity for information-gathering and sharing, and perhaps even more relevant, actual treatment.
Dorms, dining halls and depression: College students at risk
The awareness of depression as a human condition is not modern or new.
The earliest written accounts of the condition emerged from the second millennium BC in Mesopotamia when it was seen as more spiritual than physical.
Treating substance use disorders with web-based technologies
Which is more effective for treating substance use disorders – online or in-person interventions?
A recently released study of addiction treatments by Yale University compared the effectiveness of online to in-person methods and drew a conclusion that might offend readers with Luddite leanings: web-based treatment is not only as effective as in-person treatment but possibly more so.
Telehealth: A virtual technology for improved access, convenience and more
For so many of us, it’s easy to put off that doctor or other healthcare appointment. The kids have soccer practice. There’s a lot going on at work. The oil needs to be changed in the car. The dog needs to go to the vet.
Yes, it’s not good, but it reflects the reality of our fast-paced lives. There’s too much going on in a day to take time out to care for ourselvesHowever, there is an evidence-based solution for addressing the most fundamental barriers to care – access and convenience – and that is telehealth.
AI in behavioral health care: When artificial intelligence became real
Not long ago, the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care may have seemed like the stuff of which science fiction books and movies is made, but AI is fast becoming positioned to become business as usual in an industry that is already steeped in data and analytics.
AI amps up the game, and Beacon Health Options has become a willing player in using this cutting-edge technology to improve people’s health at a reduced cost.
Telehealth for autism treatment: Improved efficacy, health and cost
The oft-cited statistic that one out of every 68 children in America has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) serves as the ongoing reminder that ASD affects many families, school systems and communities.
The challenge for the health care system at large is to determine the best treatment at a cost society can bear.
Plugging into mental health care: Digital mental health in Colorado
Beacon Health Options is building a lot of bridges to ensure that its members get the quality care they deserve, bridges that span both oceans and mountains.
Beacon has partnered with Ieso Digital Health, a United Kingdom-based firm with a unique digital mental health delivery platform, to provide mental health services for members in Colorado’s Medicaid program, many of whom live in remote rural and frontier areas, stranded from accessible services.
New Year, New Insights: Reflections from the 35th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
While most people are slowly emerging from the holiday haze, the healthcare investment community kicks off January with the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
Originally an investors’ meeting for select public and private healthcare companies, the event – and the ecosystem of smaller conferences that surround it – now bring an estimated 30,000 people to San Francisco.
Beacon to Measure a Different Level of Outcomes
Greetings from the Sunshine State!
However, it’s more than sunshine that is making Florida a place of interest in Beacon Health Options’ (Beacon) ongoing story. In the first week of July, Beacon launched an outcomes pilot in Florida whose aim is to measure a different level of outcomes – outcomes that matter and truly reflect whether we are improving the lives of some of the most complex and vulnerable members in the state.