PAMF and Meru Health Partner to Pilot Digital Burnout and Depression Reduction Program Among Physicians
Palo Alto, California (PRWEB) August 24, 2017 -- Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF), part of the Sutter Health Group, and Meru Health Inc. announce today a partnership to pilot a digital burnout and depression reduction program among physicians. Meru Health is the creator of an 8-week digital therapeutics program for burnout and depression, which includes a smartphone application, a personal licensed therapist and an anonymous peer-group functionality. The program combines evidence-based psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy and a mindfulness-based intervention.
The partnership launches in August 2017 wherein 30 physicians will get access to the program to address burnout and depressive symptoms. The goal of the pilot is to understand the feasibility, acceptability, as well as the efficacy of the Meru Health program within the given population.
Burnout and depression are major concerns amongst US physicians. A 2015 study published by Mayo Clinic reported 54% of physicians having at least one symptom of burnout (1). Another study reported that 29% of residents suffered from significant symptoms of depression (2). A study published in 2008 reported that depressed residents made 6.2 times as many medication errors per resident month as residents who were not depressed.(3)
“We are excited to start this pilot collaboration with Meru Health to help our physicians and other healthcare professionals at PAMF. It is clear that there is great need for easily accessible and discreet solutions for addressing burnout and depression,” says Dr. Fannie Huang, Co-Chair, Physician Wellbeing Committee, Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
Kristian Ranta, CEO & Founder of Meru Health, adds: “We are honored to start working with an organization like PAMF/Sutter Health. Based on our track record and results we expect to be able to significantly help their staff with burnout and depression symptoms.”
(1) http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(15)00716-8/abstract
(2) http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2474424
(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18258931
About Palo Alto Medical Foundation
The Palo Alto Medical Foundation for Health Care, Research and Education (PAMF) is a not-for-profit health care organization dedicated to enhancing the health of people in our communities. This includes almost 1 million patients and countless community members across Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. PAMF is part of Sutter Health, a family of not-for-profit hospitals and physician organizations that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality.
About Meru Health
Meru Health Inc., a Palo Alto, California- and Helsinki, Finland-based company, is the creator of an 8-week digital therapeutics program for depression and burnout, which includes a smartphone application, a personal licensed therapist and an anonymous peer-group functionality. Meru Health is committed to helping and empowering people living with depression.
Kristian Ranta, MeruHealth, http://MeruHealth.com, +1 (650) 804-3004, [email protected]
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