Digital Pathways for Strengthened Scaling

Behavioral health needs continue to rise across the country, but clinical resources remain limited, especially in the many “mental health professional deserts” where individuals wait months for help. As hospitals look for sustainable and scalable solutions, digital tools are emerging as important ways to extend support, personalize care, and reduce pressure on overstretched systems.

As part of the American Hospital Association’s Affinity Forum series, Advancing Population-Based Behavioral Health Inside and Outside the Hospital Walls. CredibleMind joined leaders from across the country for the second session: Leveraging Digital Health for Scalable Mental Health Solutions.

While Session 1 focused on the “why” of population behavioral health, Session 2 went deeper into the “how,” showing hospitals what scaled support looks like in practice, how it fits into real workflows, and why digital access is now essential for modern behavioral health strategies.

Meet the Panel

Deryk Van Brunt, DrPH
CEO, CredibleMind Clinical Professor, UC Berkeley School of Public Health

Nancy Myers
Vice President of Leadership and System Innovation, American Hospital Association

Debbie Zuerner
Director of Community Engagement, Owensboro Health

Julie Orben
Project MAnager, Mental Health Matters, Columbus Regional Health

Why Digital Access Matters

When discussing the implementation of digital access in behavioral health, it’s first important to understand the backdrop upon which the conversation is built:

• Rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD remain elevated, even after the pandemic
• People still wait 8 to 10 years from the onset of symptoms to their first clinical intervention
• A third of the country lives in behavioral health provider deserts
• Three out of four people experiencing mental distress simply want to know what they can do right now to feel better

Screening, self-care, and navigation can begin long before a crisis, which reduces the burden on clinical systems and helps individuals take action sooner.

A Scalable Model for Population Behavioral Health

A scalable population behavioral health model is beginning to take shape across hospitals and communities. At its core, it blends prevention, early intervention, and navigation with digital access points that meet people where they are and make it easier to take the first step. Several foundational components are proving essential:

1. A digital front door to behavioral health

People need a simple, trusted starting point. A well-designed digital front door brings together the essentials in one place, allowing individuals to:

• Learn about mental health topics
• Access vetted, evidence-based resources
• Take assessments
• Understand their risk levels
• Navigate to peer support, coaching, therapy, crisis care, or local resources

2. Early risk identification

Validated assessments give individuals immediate insight into what they are experiencing and which next steps make most sense. In communities with long waitlists or limited clinical supply, this early clarity helps match demand to the right type of support.

3. Personalized self-care

People learn and engage differently. Digital platforms can tailor recommendations based on what individuals explore, how they prefer to receive information, and the types of strategies that resonate with them, whether that is a video, an app, a brief practice, a story, a podcast, or a structured course.

4. Data to guide system decisions

Aggregated behavioral health data offers a real-time view into emerging needs. Systems can see:

• Which issues are rising
• Where risk is concentrated
• Which populations are engaging
• Which resources are most useful

5. Navigation to higher levels of care

For higher-risk individuals, clear pathways connect them to appropriate services such as 988, local crisis resources, or health system offerings. This ensures that clinical care is reserved for those who need it most, while others receive meaningful support earlier.

Lessons from the Field

Columbus Regional Health in Indiana and Owensboro Health in Kentucky both showed how digital tools can strengthen behavioral health support inside and outside hospital walls.

Columbus Regional Health: Reducing stigma through trusted messengers

After a community needs assessment elevated mental health as a top priority, Columbus Regional:

• Launched CredibleMind as an accessible, evidence-based resource
• Built a “Standing Up to Stigma” campaign
• Created an ambassador network of volunteers from diverse backgrounds
• Used QR-coded materials (coasters, cards, coffee sleeves, doula cards, grief supports) to meet people where they are

Ambassadors completed Mental Health First Aid training and now extend the health system’s reach into schools, workplaces, and community events, helping bring conversations about mental health into everyday life.

Owensboro Health: A multi-county, multi-partner collaborative

Owensboro Health emphasized how digital tools helped unify an 18-county region with limited clinical capacity. Their strategies included:

• Integrating CredibleMind into a hospital-led mental health collaborative
• Forming partnerships with public health, schools, community colleges, and local mental health providers
• Creating an awareness campaign (yard signs, stickers, school laptop QR codes, bathroom stall posters)
• Monitoring usage to guide strategy, including more than 10,000 assessments completed and high engagement among teens and young adults

As Debbie Zerner shared, “We cannot hire ourselves out of this provider shortage. We need solutions that help people begin with self-care and then seek additional intervention when they need it.”

The Role of AI and the Guardrails that Matter

As technology and AI become more ingrained into daily life, it is important that we leverage them not as a replacement for clinicians, but as a tool that can improve safety, efficiency, and personalization. For hospitals leading this charge, our learnings emphasized that:

• Behind-the-scenes AI can analyze patterns, identify insights, and summarize large amounts of content
• AI can help guide individuals through personalized intervention pathways and offer timely recommendations
• Guardrails are essential to ensure that any recommendations come only from vetted and evidence-based sources

CredibleMind also previewed a safeguarded conversational interface designed to help people navigate behavioral health information safely and reliably.

Collaboration is the Catalyst

Both Columbus Regional of Indiana and Owensboro Health of Kentucky emphasized this truth: digital tools work best when paired with real-world partnerships. Schools, employers, libraries, public health departments, crisis centers, and faith groups all play a role in reducing stigma and helping people find reliable support.

Digital platforms provide reach. Community partners build trust.

From Insight to Impact

As a bottom line, scalable behavioral health support requires both technology and community engagement. Digital tools personalize support, reduce stigma, and free up clinical capacity when they are woven into daily life.

Leveraging digital health for scalable mental health solutions emerges a profound truth: hospitals do not need to address behavioral health on their own, but they can lead the charge by giving every person an accessible and trustworthy place to begin.

• Watch AHA Session #1
• Watch AHA Session #2
• Contact us to learn how this digital-first model can support your hospital or community
• Download our Sustainability Guide with tools to scale population behavioral health