The Economic Benefits of Mobile Apps for Mental Health and Telepsychiatry Services When Used by Adolescents

Abstract

This article describes the benefits resulting from the use of mobile applications for mental health and telepsychiatry. Potential direct benefits include substitution for other forms of care, prevention of higher-acuity illness, higher rate of psychiatrist use, increased competition of services driving lower treatment costs, lower operating costs for psychiatrists, fewer missed appointments, and revenue for application developers. Potential indirect benefits include improved physical health, enhanced current and future productivity, and reduced demands on caregivers. A return on investment analysis framework is then presented as a generalized means for evaluating the return on investment of specific health care interventions.

Keywords: Mobile applications; Return on investment; Telemedicine; Telepsychiatry; mHealth.