Why Digital Behavioral Health Can’t Gain Traction – By TREVOR VAN MIERLO
For the past 25 years, digital behavioral health has struggled to make an impact. Despite numerous reinventions and funding efforts, the same models are being used over and over again. In the mid-1990s, the focus was on high reach, lower-cost interventions that could reach millions of people with limited healthcare access. However, healthcare providers and insurers were slow to adopt these new technologies, leading to a lack of trust in integrated care.
Funding was easier to obtain from granting agencies, and development support was flowing from sources like the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. The primary concern was whether the population could access these tools and who would pay for them. Back then, funders were obsessed with the digital divide, which created a gap between those with access to digital technology and those without.
Fast forward to 2024, where technology is pervasive and accessible, yet immediate, evidence-based behavioral help is still hard to find. The problem lies in four factors limiting growth: sales models, marketing and promotion, localization, and the distinction between evidence-based treatments and merely inspirational assets.
To overcome these limitations, digital health organizations must shift to product-led sales strategies, enhance user engagement through modern promotional efforts, adapt interventions to localized needs, and focus on evidence-based approaches. By making evidence-based tools directly accessible to individuals, we can finally unlock the full potential of digital behavioral health and drive meaningful, scalable impact.
