Evaluating the Efficacy and Future of Mental Health Apps

As digital mental health solutions proliferate, stakeholders (including healthcare systems, payers, and mental health practitioners) face increasing pressure to distinguish clinically meaningful tools from those lacking evidence, integration capability, or ethical safeguards. This session will provide insight into how payers and providers consider digital mental health solutions and presents a structured evaluation framework for mental health apps, grounded in principles of clinical efficacy, privacy and security, patient-centered usability, and accessibility.Since 2019, APA has hosted the App Evaluation Framework, designed to employ a hierarchical rating system and embedded rubric to guide physicians, mental health professionals and patients in evaluating apps, highlighting key differences from choosing more traditional therapeutic interventions.Providers, health plans and other stakeholders will discuss the importance of developing standards that allow decision-makers to identify apps suitable for clinical integration that emphasize evidence based medical appropriateness, privacy practices, health equity, and engagement.Attendees will gain actionable strategies to evaluate, select, and implement mental health apps that align with organizational goals and care outcomes.