NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hedonia, an innovator in mobile mental health solutions, has unveiled new findings from its recent economic model demonstrating that Hedonia has the potential to drive 5:1 return on investment (ROI) for employers, payors, and healthcare solution providers.
The study, which was conducted in partnership with Arbital Health, a technology company leading the way in managing the complexities of value-based contract design, measurement, and adjudication, demonstrates that utilizing Hedonia’s groundbreaking digital therapeutic tool, Mood Bloom™, designed to treat depression and anxiety, has the potential to reduce costs and provide exceptional ROI.
The model was based on the peer-reviewed findings of Hedonia's clinical trials at Massachusetts General Hospital. The clinical trials reported, among other findings, a 45% reduction in depressive symptoms, further supporting the app's ability to deliver both clinical and financial improvements.
For example, a 20,000 person organization that offers Hedonia’s therapeutic gaming app to their members can expect a total cost savings of over a half a million dollars annually. This level of cost savings and ROI are the result of Mood Bloom’s high engagement rates, which are significantly above industry standard.
Mood Bloom is built on a proprietary therapeutic approach called Facilitating Thought Progression (FTP). FTP uses simple exercises to create new mental habits that work to reduce symptoms of depression. These FTP-based exercises are embedded into a fun and entertaining gaming experience. This unique approach of science-plus-gaming has shown to improve engagement, thus adherence.
Other Key Findings Include:
- Members with depression or anxiety incur twice the total healthcare costs compared to individuals without these mental health conditions.
- At least 20% of these total healthcare costs are directly related to mental health treatment, indicating the financial burden mental health places on employers and insurers.
- Members who have chronic conditions alongside depression or anxiety experience a 40% higher total cost of care, further exacerbating the economic impact.
- Transitioning patients to less severe mental health states through Mood Bloom resulted in measurable cost savings.
The study's economic model, developed by Arbital Health, calculated the ROI by estimating the financial savings associated with Mood Bloom’s ability to improve mental health outcomes. The model showed that employers could realize significant cost reductions by adopting Hedonia’s program, which transitions patients from more severe states of mental illness to less severe conditions, thereby reducing overall treatment costs.
“This study confirms what we have long believed: effective mental health solutions with low barriers to entry like Mood Bloom can not only improve patient outcomes but also deliver substantial financial returns for employers,” said Samuel Keret, Chief Executive Officer of Hedonia. “We’re excited to see the real-world impact of our app, both in terms of patient health and economic savings.”
Ian Duncan, Chief Actuary at Arbital Health, commented, “The economic model we built with Hedonia provides a valuable tool for employers looking to reduce the financial burden of mental health conditions. By leveraging the observed peer-reviewed outcomes data and clinical findings, we were able to create a customizable ROI calculator that can be tailored to different employer populations, allowing them to see firsthand the cost savings potential.”
The study utilized data from the 2022 MarketScan Database, analyzing the cost patterns among members diagnosed with depression and anxiety. It examined the financial impact of Mood Bloom using detailed cost estimates from large U.S. employers, showing the program’s capacity to improve mental health outcomes while significantly reducing costs.
Additional Highlights:
- The program demonstrates its highest potential savings in populations with high rates of depression, anxiety, and chronic conditions. It should be noted that depression and anxiety often go undiagnosed or unreported. Therefore, the impact of a program like Mood Bloom could be even higher than the model reports, when offered to the entire membership base.
- 25% of members with chronic conditions (such as diabetes, COPD, and heart disease) are also diagnosed with depression or anxiety, presenting a clear opportunity for Mood Bloom to positively affect both mental and physical health outcomes.
Reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety can have additional benefits outside of medical costs, such cost savings that come from improvements in productivity. According to a study in the Annals of Family Medicine, productivity loss (presenteeism + absenteeism) goes from 29% for those with mild depression all the way up to 51% productivity loss for those with severe depression. By transitioning members to less severe mental health states, productivity improves.
With mental health disorders continuing to rise, Hedonia’s Mood Bloom offers a scalable, effective, and financially sound solution for employers aiming to improve employee well-being while controlling healthcare costs.
About Hedonia: Hedonia is a leader in digital mental health innovation, offering evidence-based mobile tools that help treat depression and anxiety through engaging, science-driven approaches. Their flagship product, Mood Bloom™, combines mental health treatment with game design to drive engagement and improve outcomes. hedonia.io.
For more information about Hedonia’s Mood Bloom and the economic model study, please contact:
Annie Chadwick, Chief Commercial Officer
annie@hedonia.io
About Arbital Health: Arbital Health’s vision is to become the neutral third-party adjudicator of outcomes-based contracts, unlocking and accelerating the $1 trillion shift to value-based care in the U.S. healthcare system. We aspire to be the trusted umpire adjudicating every outcome-based contract in healthcare, whether contracts are between life sciences companies and payers, payers and providers, or employers and digital health companies. We will make it simple to adjudicate contracts and unlock the trillion-dollar shift to value-based care. In doing so, we will help to solve healthcare’s biggest problem.
For more information about Arbital Health’s Platform and Actuarial Sciences Consulting supporting the creation, measurement, and adjudication of value-based contracts, please contact learnmore@arbitalhealth.
