The value of an employer’s health benefit strategy isintrinsically linked to its ability to address an employee’s totalhealth—both physical and mental. That’s why overall wellness trends are shifting to betteracknowledge the strong connection between a robust behavioral health care benefit and betteroverall health, ultimately resulting in improved employee productivity.

While many wellness programs today incorporate tactics thatpromote positive behavioral lifestyle changes, they often fallshort of systematically addressing behavioral health conditionsthat can hinder an employee’s willingness and ability to embracethose needed changes. Altering entrenched behavioral healthlifestyle patterns can be difficult, even if it’s a change thatwould be beneficial for the member. For instance, diabeticemployees are much less likely to engage in diet and exerciseprograms when they are struggling with active depression that robsthem of energy, focus and motivation. These members often representa substantial percentage of those with chronic health conditionswho make up a disproportional share of total healthcareexpenditures.

This reality is why many companies are setting their sights oncomprehensive employee “well-being” as opposed to “wellness” alone.By prioritizing access to both physical and behavioral health care,employers set the stage for more systemic and long-lastingengagement in self-care—and ultimately improve employee well-being,productivity and the bottom line. It’s important to note, however,that while many companies have invested heavily in identifyinghigh-risk, high-cost employees and programs to engage theseemployees, access to care is still a major obstacle to this changeprocess.

As part of this shift, many employers are incorporatingtelemedicine options into health benefit packages as a viablesolution for addressing access issues related to traditionalin-office care. Telepsychiatry is emerging as a growing opportunitywithin this movement as an effective means of overcoming commonbarriers to behavioral health utilization such as stigma, busylifestyles and poor coordination of services. These models helpattract busy and reluctant employees who might otherwiseprocrastinate getting the help they need.

As a clinical model that leverages videoconferencing technology,telepsychiatry and telebehavioral health are used for evaluations,consultations and ongoing treatment. Employees access this carethrough live, interactive communication with a licensed psychiatryor behavioral health provider in a private setting. This improvedaccess allows employees to not only address their behavioral healthconcerns before issues become more acute and costly, but also toreduce the behavioral health impairment that interferes with theirability and desire to engage in employer wellness programs.

The behavioral health challenge

The statistics speak for themselves. Behavioral health issueswere the leading cause of disability in 2015, accounting forone-third of new claims.

Depression, for instance, ranks high as an employer healthchallenge, racking up an estimated $210.5 billion per year — nearly half of which is attributed toworkplace absenteeism and productivity losses. In fact, onestudy points to employer costs as high as $3,386 per individualover a two-year period prior to an employee’s depressiondiagnosis.

Behavioral health issues often impact the effectiveness ofwellness programs directed at physical conditions due to existingco-morbidities. Onestudy found that 45 percent of breast cancer patients also hada psychiatric disorder.

While these statistics may be startling, the good news is thatcompanies can achieve notable return on investment in wellness andcomplex condition management programs by investing in mental healthtreatment. In one study, researchers found that for every dollar spent treatingdepression, $1.55 was spent on the effects of depression in theworkplace.

It’s not always easy to quantify the impact of behavioral healthtreatment, but human resource managers overwhelmingly agree that ahealthy, well balanced employee is a better teammate and moreproductive worker. Often, the problem is getting employees toutilize the behavioral health benefits that are already availableto them.

Consider a common example: A company launches an activelifestyle program that includes tracking daily physical activity asone means of supporting the employee’s goals of improving herhealth. A single mom in the workforce, who already struggles withmild depression and anxiety, finds it difficult to rise to thechallenge of addressing her wellness goals. Feelings of guilt andinadequacy over this “failure” exacerbate her behavioral healthconditions, ultimately decreasing her physical activity andlowering her overall health scores. Unfortunately, the wellnesscoach does not recognize the behavioral health condition that isimpairing participation and fails to make an appropriate referralfor additional professional support. The employee becomesdemoralized, feels even worse and drops out of the program, and anopportunity is lost.

Even when the employee recognizes the underlying behavioralhealth condition that is compromising her health and happiness, shemay have challenges taking the desired action to address it. Whilean existing behavioral health benefit would cover the employee’streatment, she still must do the following research:

• Identify what is wrong and what type of provider she needs tofind

• Determine what her benefits cover

• Find which providers can she see that are covered

• Schedule her appointment

• Manage the logistics of attending the appointment which mayinclude taking time off and arranging child care and transportation

Taking hold of the telepsychiatry opportunity

Offering telepsychiatry and other behavioral health careservices as part of employee benefits is a trend on the rise, andfor good reason

When employees can access psychiatrists and therapists from thecomfort of their home or another private space, the behavioralhealth stigmas are reduced, and individuals are more apt to followthrough with care plans. Privacy and confidentiality are alsostronger with telepsychiatry because online sessions eliminate thepotential of individuals seeing someone they know in a waitingroom. Many patients also report greater comfort addressingdifficult issues while in familiar surroundings.

Additionally, telepsychiatry expands scheduling options andprovider choice, opening the door to greater access. Work andfamily schedules, for instance, can limit the ability of employeesto access traditional services provided in an office setting.Through telepsychiatry, employees can schedule appointments inevenings or on weekends in addition to traditional weekday timeslots, which reduces absenteeism or tardiness from work.

The reality is that patient satisfaction trends are higher with onlinepsychotherapy as opposed to traditional face-to-face treatment.While telepsychiatry and telebehavioral health are not for everyperson, this approach to care addresses many of the common barriersto receiving prompt, professional behavioral health treatment thatsets the stage for greater overall health and wellbeing.

Employers seeking to achieve the greatest return on health planinvestment are wise to consider telepsychiatry and telebehavioralhealth as means for promoting use of behavioral health benefits.This effective model of care provides the needed framework forimproving access to appropriate healthcare resources and empoweringemployees to take more control of their health.