Provider and patient barriers and facilitators to integration of digital mental health applications in routine clinical care

The limited accessibility of mental healthcare providers highlights the need for innovative approaches to provide effective and efficient care. Digital mental health applications (DMHAs) can improve patient access to evidence-based treatments and reduce burden on the healthcare system. Here, we examined the provider and patient barriers and facilitators to integration of DMHAs in a healthcare system. Patients (n = 57) and providers (n = 100) were recruited from a large healthcare system over five months. Participants completed a survey assessing attitudes towards DMHAs, and perceived facilitators and barriers to adoption and utilization of DMHAs in mental healthcare. DMHA credibility was a key facilitator for provider adoption, while usability and accessibility were identified as key facilitators for patient utilization. Provider barriers included patient cost/provider reimbursement, limited knowledge, perceived limits to credibility, patient outcome enhancement, and personalization of DMHAs for patient needs. Patients identified privacy concerns as the top barrier for using DMHAs. The self-report survey nature of this study, modest sample size, and majority of sample identifying as White and upper middle class make results subject to biases and limitations. Given the potential of DMHAs to address disparities in access to mental healthcare, more research is needed including populations who are at greatest risk. Findings provide new insights to inform the development of intervention strategies to improve the integration of DMHAs within healthcare systems. Additional research examining key stakeholders at different levels of care is critical to address barriers, optimize facilitators, and develop roadmaps for best-practice use in healthcare systems. •DMHA credibility, usability, and accessibility are important facilitators to adoption and use.•Barriers include concerns related to cost/reimbursement, DMHA knowledge, credibility, benefit, personalization, and privacy.•Provider/patient discrepancies around timing of DMHA integration in stepped-care models require further exploration.•Findings can help inform development of roadmaps for best-practice use of DMHAs in healthcare systems.