The demand for mental healthcare services is at an all-time high. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports one in five Australians experiences a mental health condition within a 12 month period. For people aged 16-24 years, it is two in five. In England, the number of people in contact with secondary mental health care services has grown circa 15% in the last two years. Similar statistics have been reported elsewhere.
At the same time, we have a significant workforce shortage, with the Australian Psychological Society (APS) reporting that Australia meets only 35 percent of its psychology workforce target, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) finding that 93% of Australian psychiatrists believe the current workforce crisis negatively impacts patient care.
We need new solutions and care delivery models, amplified by modern, flexible, and purpose-built technology. Unfortunately, most mental health delivery organisations fall well short on the technology front. Rather than being enabled by their technology, they must deliver excellent care despite their cumbersome, disjointed and outdated systems.
At Tacklit, we spend our days partnering with leading mental healthcare delivery organisations to transform their technology infrastructure, increasing innovation and reach, while decreasing risk and wasted clinical time. In our experience, senior leaders in the UK, Australia and New Zealand are fully aware of the inadequacy of their current systems, and of the promise that new technology holds for their patients and staff. However, many are loath to embark on the IT effort required to capture it. And for good reason.
Firstly, their existing technology environment is highly complex and fragmented. It is made up of many disparate systems. Some have been built internally, or custom-built by third parties, and have become increasingly difficult to maintain. Externally provided systems might have been customised, and are no longer supported by the original vendors. The landscape has evolved organically over many years, it is hard to understand, and almost impossible to change.
Secondly, there is no support within the organisation for change. Staff usually dislike existing systems, but are deeply sceptical of any efforts to change. They have seen multiple vendors promise the world, only to fall short in delivery. They have observed their colleagues’ careers, and perhaps their own, be negatively impacted by their involvement in yet another failed technology project.
Finally, the organisation simply cannot afford the cost and risk of a large technology initiative. Caseloads are high, budgets are tight, and the idea of a long, expensive, risky technology project is just not realistic in this environment.
Does this mean it is simply not possible to digitally transform most large mental health service organisations? Fortunately not. We at Tacklit have been doing this long enough to identify a change pattern which addresses the above and delivers positive results.
1) Select a self-contained, promising end-to-end service: whilst the big reward will likely come from transforming your core operation, that is not the place to start. It will be too complex and risky while the team’s transformation experience and level of support are low. Rather, aim to digitally transform an exciting service with high growth prospects and situated at arms-length from the core.
2) Ensure the success of this small project: ensure this initial project is staffed with some of your high performers. Look for a technology partner with the right technology skills and partnering mindset. Importantly, the technology partner must be right not only for the initial project but also for the transformation of the whole organisation over time. Collaborate with your technology partner deeply, with clear roles and responsibilities. Ensure the attention of the senior team throughout, communicating the vision, motivating the team and removing obstacles.
3) When the initial project succeeds, communicate widely: make sure the positive impact, as well as the contribution of those involved, is properly celebrated so that others in the organisation perceive the project as positive for the organisation as well as the careers of those involved.
4) As confidence grows, add additional service lines or caseloads: select the next logical service, then look to transform it using the newly learned way of working, vendor and team. The same approach can be used within a single large volume service, i.e. start with a small caseload, then progressively add additional load. Repeat this process continuously, until ultimately the entire organisation has moved to the new technology solution.
If confidence drops in the initial phases, for example regarding the capability or partnership mindset of the technology provider, efforts can be corrected or even wound up with relatively minor impact. This phased approach means the consequences of failure are more manageable, and therefore leaders can be more confident in taking the initial step.
A great case study of this approach is the transformation journey undertaken by Caraniche, a mental health and behavioural change provider based in Melbourne, Australia. In 2021, it found itself in a difficult, if common, situation. In the words of Jacinta Pollard, Caraniche Co-Founder and CEO:
“After many years of investing in customised software and building an internal team, we found ourselves with a legacy system, no longer supported by the vendor and unable to effectively support our team. The clinical interface was adequate, but data and reporting was a nightmare.”
In November 2021, Caraniche and Tacklit started working together on a small, self-contained service. The Kickstart program at the time only involved 15 staff and had a caseload of 200 clients. After initial success, Caraniche chose to adopt Tacklit for its new, direct-to-consumer brand, Helm. Then it migrated its workplace wellbeing offering, Caraniche At Work. As success and team confidence continued to grow, Caraniche extended Tacklit to its largest delivery arm in social and justice services, first restricted to supporting its clinical supervision processes, and finally, in May 2023, to the service at large. Tacklit is now used by virtually all of Caraniche’s circa 200 staff, supporting thousands of clients. In Jacinta’s words:
“We began talking to the Tacklit team. They understood our service delivery requirements as well as the need for a staged implementation that built the team’s confidence as we progressed. As we got to know the capability of Tacklit, we were able to adapt and streamline processes and eliminate long-standing pain points. Tacklit is now fully embedded across all our service delivery, which has been great with more benefits still to be realised. Our internal team is excited by the potential and is fully aware we could never have built a system with Tacklit’s capability.”
The digital transformation of mental health services holds great promise for clients and organisations alike. However, highly complex current environments, sceptical team members, and expensive past failures all conspire to prevent the necessary change. By initially focusing on a small, end-to-end service offering, risk and cost can be controlled, and results can be demonstrated more quickly and clearly. As the organisation gains confidence, and internal support for change increases, more ambitious initiatives can be added and successfully delivered
About the authors:
Isar Mazer is Co-founder and Chairman at Tacklit, and Chairman at software company EstimateOne. He is formerly a Managing Director of Seek Limited, Australia’s leading online employment and education company. His email address is isar@tacklit.com
Jacinta Pollard is a psychologist and Co-founder and CEO at Caraniche. She is also a Non Executive Director at Tacklit, and the Ethics Committee Chair at the Employee Assistance Professional Association of Australasia. Her email address is jpollard@caraniche.com.au
If you’d like more information on Tacklit’s and Caraniche’s digital transformation experience, please get in touch.
