Suppose you’ve been referred to a mental health service. Where do you get information about the treatment before starting? How do you know what to expect, and how can you prepare for that?
Minddistrict has developed a blueprint for a welcome module that meets these needs of new clients. With it, you can give them a warm welcome to your service.
A soft landing
Why is a warm welcome important? ‘You need to imagine that after being referred to a service, clients often don’t know what their treatment is going to look like. To the service, this is everyday business, but for the client it’s a new step that can be intriguing, but perhaps daunting,’ says Jeanette Ploeger, CEO of Minddistrict. She was very much involved in the conceptualisation of the welcome module. ‘That’s the reason why we’ve created this "soft landing" for patients, together with the organisations that use our platform. This way, we can take away part of their tension. The welcome module caters to that need.’
Providing information
One of the first things to ease any uncertainty is to become familiar with the service. 'Knowing where you stand and who you are dealing with is often reassuring. Patients want to feel heard,’ says Ilona Hartog, intervention developer at Minddistrict. In a welcome module, you can present this information in an interactive and inspiring way. ‘It’s not a static introduction document. You can add pictures, videos or even inlcude stories of other clients' experiences. Information sticks better this way and can make the person feel more at ease.’
'Clients want to feel heard and be reassured’
A head start
But the module can do more than provide information: people can also get a head start. ‘With questions and exercises, you can motivate people to already think about their goal. What do they want to achieve in their treatment?’ says Ilona. With the help of tips and advice, they can prepare for the conversations to come. ‘This helps people to be well prepared; they are already actively involved, before the treatment itself has started,’ says Jeanette.
Jeanette Ploeger and Ilona Hartog
Reducing or alleviating waiting time
‘Unfortunately, there is always waiting time to deal with in health services.’ Jeanette gestures in the air to draw the situation. ‘People can find themselves waiting for several weeks between referral and the first treatment session. This can feel very long. It’s nice if people can actually do something during this time,’ she says. Healthcare services also see this reflected in the appreciation of clients. ‘From surveys, we know that people find themselves taken seriously by the services. That’s very valuable.’
'An online welcome module is a logical first step’
Making ehealth feel natural
It has become quite normal to meet or be welcomed digitally, Jeanette states. ‘As a consumer, it’s all you do. You order something online or take out a subscription and lo and behold, you receive a welcome email, with information such as when you’ll receive your order, or where you can go if you have questions.’ The Minddistrict welcome module is of course different, she admits, but the concept is the same. ‘We are used to being served online in this way. Let’s make use of that!’ Because people receive and follow the welcome module during their waiting time, getting online treatment in the subsequent process is a logical next step. ‘In this way, we make ehealth feel more natural.’
Renewed and mobile
The concept of the welcome module isn’t new, Ilona tells us. ‘But we haven’t been idle of course, and the concept is renewed. More moments of choice have been added. People aren’t obliged to follow every part of this module: they can choose what they want to do. That makes them more open and motivated for the content, because they have chosen to do it themselves. More so than before, the welcome module is a part of the care that follows. Oh, and of course it’s available in the mobile app.’ In the meantime, many customers of Minddistrict have fully embraced the module. Dutch mental health institution De Hoop GGZ describe it the module as 'like our shop window: it shows who we are and our vision’.
Digital client journey
The welcome module can be used as part of the digitally supported client journey in your organisation - welcoming people, alleviating the waiting time, and letting them get started before treatment.
Your own welcome module?
To create your service's own welcome module, you can make use of the Minddistrict blueprint. Our intervention developers will be able to help you to adjust it to your needs. ‘It really is simple’, says Ilona.
Get in touch with your account manager or contact us if you want to know more about the welcome module.