Telehealth app, Eagle Intelligent Health, is breaking down barriers to mental healthcare access in South Africa by soon expanding its network of licensed South African doctors and clinicians to include registered psychologists and psychiatrists.
The app currently provides access to on-demand medical consultations from a network of licensed South African doctors via a telehealth consultation, which is free for a limited launch period, and allows users to access support anytime, from anywhere, at their fingertips. Consultation options for mental health are being added and will be available to users soon.
Mental health is currently one of the most pressing public health concerns facing South Africans and people worldwide. According to the World Health Organisation, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost annually to depression and anxiety, costing US$ 1 trillion in lost productivity globally. Furthermore, nearly a third (30.3%) of South Africans will experience a common mental health disorder in their lifetime.
This year’s World Mental Health Day, themed “our minds, our rights”, highlights that like physical health, mental wellbeing is a basic and universal human right. With lack of access as one of the biggest obstacles to mental health support, telehealth has emerged as an important digital bridge between those who need help and those who can provide it.
Arvind Raichur, CEO and Co-founder of Eagle Intelligent Health says, “one of the biggest challenges with mental health care has always been access. It is often expensive to seek help, and not knowing who to make contact with often stops someone from asking for support. Technology such as ours makes it easier and more cost-effective for anyone and everyone to seek out help.”
Meeting those who need help where they are
According to the South African Society of Psychiatrists, mental health professionals in South Africa are in short supply, with only 700 psychiatrists available to a population of 60 million people. Poor access to mental health support is further exacerbated by the added potential transport costs that make seeking medical help prohibitive for millions. Stigma and fear are also common barriers to mental health care access, especially in places where mental health education may be lacking.
Telehealth allows people in need of help to bypass these challenges. Instead, from the privacy and ease of their device, anyone can open an app and begin their mental health journey.
“Improving accessibility is at the heart of what we do, and we believe expanding our doctor network to address growing mental health concerns is a decision that will help give our users meaningful outcomes”.
“Given how difficult it has been for people to access quality and affordable healthcare in South Africa, telehealth gives us the chance to help ease the burden on an overextended healthcare system and allow a much broader swathe of patients to seek help,” Raichur adds.
If widely adopted, telehealth could become the great leveller that helps society deal with the growing problem of mental illness in a more equitable way. In a country where access to healthcare services is a fundamental human right, telehealth could be the tool that makes that right a reality.