Evie makes Holland mentally fit
Professionals in the mental health sector had a desire to work more digitally. And patients and clients increasingly see the benefits of online (self-)help. Praktijksteun, a subsidiary of PRO Group, jumped on this. Praktijksteun is a healthcare organization that has offered practice support to general practitioners and practice support workers in the field of mental health since 2009. They founded Evie: the e-health team of Praktijksteun. At Evie, a small, enthusiastic team works together to support healthcare professionals in the successful use of e-health. The goal: a mentally fit Netherlands.
After several years of experimentation, it became clear that simply offering e-health applications was not the way to go. Using the applications, integrating them into work processes and combining new applications was very challenging for healthcare providers. And the end users (clients or patients) struggled with a technical solution without context. They did not have enough information and did not know that the system was supported by professionals and general practitioners. What next?
The key to success: a hybrid offering
In the end, we found the key to successfully deploying e-health. It lay in consistency on several fronts: at the level of the organization, products or services, and communication. That insight led to a hybrid healthcare organization, with an effective mix of online and offline working.
Evie increases self-reliance
Evie is not affiliated with health care providers, mental health institutions or other interested health care providers: we are 100% independent. General practitioners are our main clients and funders. We connect with adjacent (preferably regional) care domains where necessary. This is done from civil society, supported by funding from the government (Zvw and Wmo). The connection between care and market parties must ultimately ensure that the self-reliance of the inhabitants of the Netherlands is increased.
Unique position in the healthcare system
Summary: Evie is an independent and autonomous support and facilitation organization dedicated to mental health-related e-health. We focus on:
- Implementation of an e-health platform in practice
- Assisting individual professionals in embedding e-health in the workplace
- Consulting and communication
- Central purchasing
- Making cross-domain connections
We do this for GP practices, organizations, employers, municipalities and social workers or institutions within the mental health and social domain.