Express Scripts will make SilverCloud Health’s digital behavioral health platform available for free to its members as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
SilverCloud’s tool is designed to assist in building resilience and ways to manage stress and sleep. Using cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and positive psychology, the platform aims to assist users in improving their emotional health.
“We know Americans need help in managing the physical and emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Glen Stettin, M.D., chief innovation officer at Express Scripts, said in a statement. “In this time of self-quarantine and social distancing, these digital health tools can empower people and help them think and feel better.”
SilverCloud is one of the tools offered on Express Scripts’ digital formulary, which intends to make it easier for plan sponsors to determine the digital health tools that may best fit their needs.
Express Scripts vets the tools by reviewing clinical research, member experience testing and value measurements. The formulary currently includes 15 tools from seven platform providers across several chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension.
“With so many people being asked or required to stay home, and the general challenges that exist in accessing mental health services, we recognize the heightened need for effective, proven virtual mental healthcare as the world copes with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ken Cahill, CEO of SilverCloud, in a statement.
Express Scripts also announced that it would be working alongside Buoy Health to launch a symptom tracker for its members, which is based on the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify members at risk.
Such tools have become commonplace as the industry works to keep as many patients as possible at home, avoiding a crush of unnecessary visits to the emergency department and allowing clinicians to focus on the sickest COVID-19 patients.
