GGz Centraal is an organisation in the Netherlands that provides specialised mental health care (Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg, or GGZ in Dutch) and treats, guides, and supports people with psychological problems. GGz Centraal also has a digital clinic where clients can receive 100% digital care. The initiative has been successful, which is why GGz Centraal is curious about how it can expand this digital clinic further.
The challenge
GGz Centraal has one key question: Is it possible to also provide crisis care digitally, and if so, how? Currently, this is very intensive care, where teams must be physically present on-site. As a result, their time quickly becomes scarce, and their coverage area is limited. The use of technology in such vulnerable situations often provokes resistance that argues for human care. But is that always truly the best option?
The insight
By speaking with clients, their loved ones, and professionals, we gathered various insights. In particular, we explored when digital crisis care could be a better alternative to current crisis care. From this, it emerged that in different phases of crisis care (prevention, care, and aftercare), digital tools could alleviate several important pain points. For example, by increasing access to preventive care and supporting loved ones during a crisis.
In addition, we found that sharing the right information in advance and providing effective aftercare are crucial for establishing a digital crisis service.
As a result, we delivered a plan for building the crisis service. A clear vision, with well-defined building blocks, served as the starting point for developing the service. Through a customer journey, we identified what needed to be developed and who needed to be involved. The service is now operational, and a request has been made for a national scaling strategy.
Bart is happy to tell you more about this case and discuss your challenge with you.