4 imperatives for improving mental health care in 2025

We are currently facing a global mental crisis, with some studies estimating that one out of every two people in the world will develop a mental health disorder in their lifetime. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health disorders are now a substantial contributor to the global disease burden, with depression alone representing the leading cause of disability globally. Even with widespread impact, on average, governments allocate only about 2% of their health budgets to mental health care, with many low- and middle-income countries spending less than 1%.

This issue is greatly exacerbated by a chronic shortage of qualified professionals. While mental health disorders account for 10% of global total disease burden, only 1% of global health workers are dedicated to mental health. In the US, the Health Resources and Services Administration projects a 20% decline in the number of psychiatrists by 2030, a significant reduction that could result in millions of people going untreated.

Mental health is and should be everyone’s priority, and a preventive approach to mitigating the mental health crisis will require many different industry players to collaborate to expand access, address barriers to care, and implement patient-forward solutions.

Access to qualified mental health professionals is a global challenge; in the US, for example, average wait times are reported to exceed two months. Today, the impact of this challenge is evident in more mental health emergencies. Nearly 1 in 10 emergency department visits at US hospitals is for treatment for mental health. To address this, we must innovate by integrating behavioural health into primary care, rather than treating them as separate entities. This integration can help improve patient outcomes, enhance treatment adherence, reduce healthcare costs, and alleviate physician stress.

By embedding behavioural health services within primary care, we tackle two major barriers: the shortage of mental health professionals and the stigma associated with seeking treatment. At Hackensack Meridian Health, we’ve integrated behavioural health into primary care settings, expanded access through telehealth, and launched the nation's first Urgent Care with Behavioural Health services that provides walk-in care for mental health issues when other providers are unavailable. This pioneering model in our state has reduced wait times, decreased emergency department visits for non-emergencies, and cut emergency department costs by over 50%.

We have also created an 81-bed behavioural health centre of excellence in one of our hospitals, opened an addiction treatment centre, and launched a modernization and expansion of a 52-inpatient bed child and adolescent unit to address the growing mental health crisis in young people.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform mental health treatment by streamlining healthcare workflows, providing valuable patient data insights, and facilitating better care, whether its advancing early detection approaches, tailoring treatment or expanding access. Using AI algorithms, we can analyse large, diverse data sets to help improve our understanding of mental illness prevalence and risk factors, including biomarkers. AI tools can reduce workload and help mental health practitioners to focus more on the human aspects of care by helping to monitor treatment progress and medication adherence.

As with any AI application, it is essential to remain vigilant of potential ethical implications, such as data privacy and algorithm bias, to ensure these technologies are used responsibly and in the best interest of patients.

Social determinants of health, such as socioeconomic status and access to transportation, healthy food, clean water, and a safe living environment, have a significant impact on mental health outcomes. Research consistently shows that individuals with lower socioeconomic status are at a higher risk for mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety.

Health literacy and education also play a critical role in navigating the mental health system. Perhaps one of the biggest barriers to care is economic stability, with inadequate insurance coverage and hefty out-of-pocket costs leading to poor rates of treatment.

Digital platforms are helping us identify individuals with social needs who might have previously been overlooked, allowing for the detection of issues such as food and housing insecurity, transportation challenges, mental health concerns, addiction, and caregiver stress. Since 2021, Hackensack Meridian Health has completed 1.8 million screenings and provided 4.4 million referrals to community service organizations, a strategy to help eliminate healthcare disparities related to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

In healthcare, it is especially important for us to prioritize the mental health of our employees. While many caregivers are not accustomed to asking for help, we recognize that healthcare workers are leaving the field because they are experiencing burnout due to challenges such as short staffing, long hours and difficult work environments. Before COVID-19, more than 50% of clinicians reported burnout and this number rose to 76% in the first year of the pandemic.

AI tools are helping to address some of the challenges contributing to clinician burnout by automating manual and repetitive tasks such as entering data for electronic health records and submitting prior authorization requests to insurance companies.

At Hackensack Meridian Health, we have prioritized team member wellbeing, investing in initiatives such as creating on-location “safe spaces” for clinical teams to de-stress with mental health professionals. This programme treated 1,500 staff in its first two years. Additionally, we expanded a team member assistance programme with a 24/7 hotline and created a holistic nurse rounding team pilot programme that trains nurses to provide on-site mindfulness and meditation sessions.

Improving mental health is a global priority that requires collaboration among providers, policy-makers, and community organizations to support earlier intervention and address barriers to access. Key to overcoming these challenges will be integrating behavioural health as part of primary care and prioritizing wellbeing in the workplace. New technologies, such as AI tools, can help us accelerate progress by identifying risk factors, supporting ongoing care, and ultimately improving patient outcomes.