Blended care: the combination of online and offline care
Since the first forms of online care existed, the term blended care has also been around. And the role of this term is far from over.
What is blended care?
Blended care literally means 'mixed care'. In a blended treatment you combine face-to-face contact with online interventions. These can be computerised CBT modules with exercises and psycho-education, for example, to which you give written feedback. Or online monitoring, via diaries and questionnaires. Or digital communication, such as chat sessions, a message via an ehealth platform, or a video call.
By combining offline conversations with online components, you can enrich the care process. Not only for yourself, because you have more resources at your disposal, but especially for your clients.
The role of clients in a blended treatment process
In a traditional care pathway, clients are offered all interventions and information in periodic consultations. In a blended treatment it is much easier to work on recovery in between consultations.
The part of the Minddistrict platform that is most often used for this is the catalogue of modules. These computerised CBT modules offer clients insights and exercises aimed at changing their thinking and acting. This helps clients to take a more active role in their treatment.
In addition, the psycho-education in the modules is a way to take some of the routine work away from the healthcare professional. The videos with experiences of other clients help with the recognition and acknowledgement of complaints.
Care pathways: blended care of today
Enough reason, therefore, to add online elements, also within the care pathways. This can be done, for example, by using a protocolled module as a guideline for the treatment, which you use to structure the conversations and the online treatment. Or you can use the self-help modules or diaries to give clients more tools to deal with practical issues that affect them, in addition to the treatment protocol.
Add online elements to an offline care path, or vice versa
In addition, it is a reality for clients that they have already travelled an entire route before coming to treatment. Also within this client journey, online steps are possible, for example as support during waiting times, or as preparation for the intake. In fact, if this is already done, it is even easier to continue this line in the actual treatment. Or aftercare.
The future of blended care
As technology advances, blended care continues to develop. For example, a number of progressive clients are making data from wearables part of their blended processes, in order to be able to link physical values to psychological insights. By using monitoring and data collection in this way, it is becoming increasingly possible to validate the blended treatment.
More information
In addition to blended care, treatment can also be fully digital. To find out more, read our blog in which a counsellor talks about their experience of 100% online care.
Would you like to know more about how the Minddistrict platform can facilitate blended treatment?