Maartje Bastiaans worked as a psychologist at various mental health institutions for almost eight years. She knows what it feels like to want to use e-health but still not succeed very well at it. As she says herself: “As a practitioner, I have experienced what e-health looks like in practice. I am now using that experience to support healthcare professionals.”
During the customer day Healthy and digital together From HCI CRS, she shared her experiences and indicated what is needed to make e-health a natural part of the treatment.
The feeling that e-health is something extra
Maartje opens her presentation with an honest confession. She tells those present in the room that she herself stumbled in the beginning. She knew what e-health could deliver in theory, but couldn't manage to make it a real part of her working method. Only when she succeeded in doing so together with her team did she see what e-health meant in practice for himself and her clients.
Many healthcare professionals recognize that feeling. A workday in mental healthcare cannot be planned. Conversations run over, a client needs acute help, a colleague asks a question between sessions. That is where e-health can weather Feeling something extra. That has little to do with the added value of e-health. The program It does not always work, because e-health is not yet an integral part of the treatment.
The treatment does not stop after the session.
Maartje explains how e-health strengthens every phase of the treatment process, especially at times when the healthcare professional and client do not see each other.
The Welcome Program, for example, helps clients on the waiting list to organize their complaints and clarify their needs. They can already set goals and prepare for what the treatment will require of them. This provides a sense of control and the feeling that they are making progress.
Diaries and trackers provide insight into patterns over a longer period and show how things are really going. This gives a more reliable picture.
Psychoeducation, modules, and exercises can serve as preparation for a session. This allows the conversation to move to the emotional level sooner. You need to explain less what a pattern is, enabling the client to better feel how it affects them. And that is where real change begins.
The administrative burden also decreases. Digital questionnaires no longer need to be printed and scored manually. After treatment, clients maintain a sense of stability, as they can continue doing exercises and reviewing information afterwards.
Using e-health doesn't have to be difficult.
That added value does not arise automatically. For this to happen, e-health must be given a permanent place in daily practice. Maartje talks about the challenges she encounters at every organization. Sometimes there is resistance from employees who have to learn something new, while they already have little time. Sometimes the added value is not yet clear enough. And sometimes there is simply no fixed time in the week to work on it.
Those are human challenges, not technical ones. Maartje emphasizes that this is a continuous process and that it varies by organization. Maartje shares a number of tips that she has tested in practice. For instance, e-health works better when it has a fixed place in the treatment plan and the schedule. Employees who understand the benefits are more willing to get started with it. She advises involving healthcare professionals in the decision-making process, for example through project groups, so that they can contribute ideas on what the implementation might look like.
She advises organizations to look for enthusiasts: people who are already positive about it or are already working with it. Ensure tailored training and support, because what someone needs differs per employee. Evaluate regularly what is going well, what it yields, and where there is still room for improvement.
Less switching, more attention for the client
E-health works best when it seamlessly aligns with the care process. That is why is Embloom Fully integrated into HCI CRS. Healthcare professionals do not need to switch between different systems and can prepare exercises, programs, and questionnaires directly from the EHR. This way, it feels like a single application and the focus remains on the client.
Embloom It helps organizations apply e-health in various ways. White papers, instructional videos, and blogs are available via the knowledge base, including a white paper specifically on the implementation of e-health. In addition, there are consultations, training sessions, and demos, and healthcare professionals can practice using a trial account. Ongoing support is available from customer support for practical and content-related questions.
Maartje's message
Maartje concludes her story with the thought that digital care does not start with a platform. It starts with the question of how you can help a healthcare professional do good work. If e-health is part of that seamless where it aligns, the client ultimately notices the biggest difference.