Cindy Kazan

CuraLinc Healthcare’s proprietary eConnectTM platform has provided employee assistance program (EAP) and managed behavioral health clients with secure web chat and telephonic access to licensed behavioral health clinicians since 2010. Effective immediately, eConnectTM will evolve to include secure video counseling.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reports that by 2020, behavioral health disorders will surpass all physical diseases as the leading cause of disability. With the U.S. already facing a significant shortage of practitioners to accommodate the growing need for behavioral health services, EAP providers must consider alternative assessment and treatment channels in order to maintain their value.

"In a world where more and more people are using the internet to streamline the way they interact with health care delivery models, web-based care channels can no longer be ignored or considered peripheral by organizations that offer EAP and behavioral health services," says Sean Fogarty, President of CuraLinc Healthcare. "Providers that don't integrate distance counseling mechanisms into their delivery models run the risk of limiting access to care and reducing the overall application of their services.”

eConnectTM will provide scheduled and impromptu video, web chat and telephonic access to CuraLinc’s team of independently-licensed masters and doctorate-level clinicians. All CuraLinc clinicians possess a Distance Credentialed Counselor certification (DCC), a nationally-recognized accreditation that takes the best practices of traditional counseling and adapts them for delivery via electronic means.

Through eConnectTM, CuraLinc Healthcare provides the following benefits to covered members:

•       Improved Access: Members in rural areas or underserved regions, as well as those with mobility problems, will now have an alternative for accessing care.

•       Convenience: By connecting to care online, rather than traveling to a local clinician’s office, members will reduce out-of-pocket expenses and save time.

•       Confidentiality: Members can access eConnectTM from the privacy of their own home, which eliminates confidentiality concerns that many EAP participants (particularly those in rural areas) have about the program.

Most healthcare providers agree that telemedicine, the practice of providing interactive care through technology, is a crucial element of health care reform. According to the American Telemedicine Association, over 10 million Americans utilized telemedicine services in 2012, a number that is sure to climb in the years ahead. In addition to providing more efficient access to care, CuraLinc believes eConnectTM can also help clients and their employees develop a higher comfort level with telemedicine services. Says Fogarty, “For CuraLinc clients that have already implemented telemedicine services, and for those considering it, eConnectTM can act as a catalyst for a paradigm shift by helping employees make the transition into alternative treatment channels.”

Given the shortage of mental health providers in the U.S., telemedicine will play a key role in delivering EAP and behavioral health services for the foreseeable future. The key to a technology-driven behavioral health component, according to CuraLinc Healthcare’s Clinical Director, John Kamilis, LCPC, CEAP, DCC, is in the program’s ability to deliver the same results as face-to-face services. “In addition to our own experience, a number of studies over the past five years have shown that distance counseling can deliver the same clinical outcomes as traditional counseling. While we still feel that face-to-face services will constitute the lion’s share of our treatment, eConnectTM will provide a reasonable alternative that will increase access to the highest level of care.”


About CuraLinc Healthcare
CuraLinc Healthcare provides clients with a fully-integrated array of behavioral health and wellness programs which help individuals improve their psychological and physical well-being. For more information, please call 800.490.1585, email info@curalinc.com or visit www.curalinc.com.