New report demonstrates continued measurable success of the HSE partnership with the SilverCloud® platform, and outlines encouraging clinical success, uptake and effectiveness of the platform
DUBLIN (October, 2023) – The Health Service Executive (HSE) shared a new report1 highlighting a key milestone in the technology partnership with SilverCloud® by Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL); more than 12,300 people have used the SilverCloud platform’s guided digital Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (iCBT) programmes, as of August 2023. The partnership forms a part of the HSE’s Sharing The Vision national mental health policy
Growing demand for mental health support in Ireland has led to long waiting lists2, with clinicians across the country under high pressure to meet increased need with limited resources. To improve access to evidence-based mental health supports, alleviate wait lists, and reduce the strain on Ireland’s clinicians, the HSE provided the clinically proven SilverCloud platform’s guided iCBT programmes across the country. Through dedicated funding from the HSE, the programmes are available for clinicians to refer to and provide, at no cost, to their patient communities across Ireland.
The report, which follows November’s research report3 on the first 5,000 users to utilise the programmes, details the continued progress of the HSE partnership, and outlines the encouraging clinical success, uptake and effectiveness of the platform including:
- 49% of users with clinical levels of depression showed clinically meaningful improvement and 59% of users with clinical levels of anxiety showed clinically meaningful improvement.
- Active use of the SilverCloud platform in Ireland has grown exponentially since November 2022, with an 85% increase in people utilising the SilverCloud iCBT programmes in 10 months. The average time users spend on the platform has also increased by almost 10% in this period.
- Since the start of partnership, the platform has seen more than 21,344 referrals from Ireland-based GPs, Primary Care Psychologists, and Counselling in Primary Care and Jigsaw– demonstrating clinicians value the solution support on their patients.
- The platform continues to see a high user satisfaction rate at 94%
Two HSE leaders share remarks on the success of the program:
“Initially when we worked with the SilverCloud platform, we looked at it from the perspective of self-help. However, the real turning point for the HSE and SilverCloud technology partnership was when we went to a guided digital CBT approach where the client is brought through the digital CBT programmes by a trained clinical supporter. We have now reached well over 10,000 users and we have seen strong patient outcomes with this intervention with 59% of patients seeing reliable rates of recovery for anxiety or depression. In line with our mental health policy, Sharing the Vision, we will continue to develop initiatives with clinical oversight that are accessible and effective.”
- Derek Chambers, Acting Asst. National Director, Mental Health Operation, HSE.
“We know that there has been a huge rise in the number of people presenting with anxiety and depression in the last number of years. This has put huge pressure on GP’s and mental health services. It is very difficult to provide one-to-one counselling for all those that need it, which has led to long waitlists for some people to access care. One way to address this is to use an evidence-based digital mental health intervention like SilverCloud by Amwell for patients with mild to moderate symptoms. This means that those patients can get support immediately, regardless of what part of the country they are living in. Their GP can refer them in, and they can access guided iCBT progammes for support.
- Dr. Aoife O’ Sullivan, ICGP HSE Primary Care Lead Mental Health
The SilverCloud iCBT programmes have been designed by experts and are backed by 20 years of research. Amwell aims to provide a solution within a clinician’s care plan for a patient, whether to provide support while on a waiting list, for use during therapy sessions, or to help maintain recovery post-therapy. The programmes can also be utilised as preventative tools, enabling clinicians to identify when a patient might benefit from the SilverCloud iCBT programmes before they present with symptoms of anxiety (e.g., upcoming exams, surgery or an anxiety prompting life event).
Notes to the editor
- A user meets the criteria for recovery when they move from caseness (>9 on PHQ-9 or >7 on GAD7 to non caseness post intervention
- Significant improvement based on validated measures for depression and anxiety
- Earlier this year, Amwell released a workplace mental health study4 in partnership with Opinions.ie. The study found that the issues impacting how an employee feels at work often have nothing to do with their job;
- Over 3 in 10 (31%) employees cited their mental health at work was taking a hit because of mental health of a family member as a factor, while a similar number (28%) blamed child care issues.
- The stats further demonstrated how employees who have family members at home that they are worried about, directly impacts their productivity at work.
References:
- Guided Digital CBT Service Report
August 2023 - 5,000 waiting over a year for HSE psychology services
- Guided Digital CBT Service Report
November 2022 - MEETING THE CHALLENGE: WORKPLACE MENTAL HEALTH IN IRELAND TODAY
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About SilverCloud® by Amwell®
SilverCloud® by Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL) is a leading digital mental health platform, enabling providers, health plans and employers to deliver clinically validated digital health/therapeutic care that improves outcomes and increases access and scale while reducing costs. Developed in Ireland in 2012, the multi-award-winning digital mental health platform is a result of 20 years of clinical research with leading academic institutions. Today, SilverCloud® is being used by more than 500 organizations globally to meet their populations’ mental health needs. Global experts have clinically proven the platform through fully randomized control trials and anonymized, real-world data from over one million SilverCloud users. The platform is a leader in the industry with its effectiveness, engagement and range of clinical programs that encompasses the spectrum of mental health needs.
Learn more at www.silvercloudhealth.com
https://www.silvercloudhealth.com/ie/hse-digital-mental-health
About Amwell
Amwell provides a leading hybrid care enablement platform in the United States and globally, connecting and enabling providers, insurers, patients and innovators to deliver greater access to more affordable, higher quality care. Amwell believes that hybrid care delivery will transform healthcare. The company offers a single, comprehensive platform to support all digital health needs from urgent to acute and post-acute care, as well as chronic care management and healthy living. With nearly two decades of experience, Amwell powers the hybrid care of more than 55 health plans, which collectively represent more than 90 million covered lives, and many of the nation’s largest health systems, representing over 2,000 hospitals, have access to Amwell solutions. For more information, please visit https://business.amwell.com/.
Amwell®, SilverCloud®, Conversa®, ConvergeTM, CarepointTM and the Amwell Logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of American Well Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
