Region Sörmland examines chat therapy companies: "No research to lean on"

The digital care company Mendly collaborates with the private Vårdcentralen Centrum in Flen and through the agreement with them, Mendly can offer free chat therapy for applicants throughout the country.

The bill is sent to the patient's home region.

It is a form of therapy where in a CBT approach you can chat with a therapist who answers the patient in chat messages 3-5 times a week.

A method called asynchronous chat.

There is currently too little research on asynchronous chat to be able to know that it gives results, according to the health selection staff at Region Sörmland.

SEK 35.9 million

During 2020 and 2021, Mendly has invoiced the country's 21 regions SEK 35.9 million and a total of 13,317 people have been treated.

- We absolutely believe that you can use this type of CBT, but we must also ensure that there are results, says Kent Bobits, business developer for eHealth in the Sörmland region.

In this case, Mendly has entered into an agreement with the private health center Centrum in Flen, which is thus a subcontractor to Region Sörmland.

The Sörmland Region is now investigating whether this type of treatment should be included in the range provided by spring centers.

"These are reasonable diagnoses they treat, but we have still not seen the results of their treatments, so that investigation is ongoing," says Kent Bobits.

Rejects interview

Mendly does not want to be interviewed by us but their CEO has answered questions via email.

- Just like all other digital care providers in the region, we have regular dialogue meetings with Region Sörmland.

These meetings are valuable for both us and the region to create consensus on the care mission.

At the last meeting this week, we had a good and constructive conversation and we feel good confident that we will be able to straighten out the issues that have arisen, writes CEO Sebastian Ralph.

He writes in an email that they are working on compiling the results that the treatment with asynchronous chat has given.

- We will send it over shortly.

Nor does the health center Centrum in Flen allow itself to be interviewed.

Operations Manager Lena Andersson writes in an email that she does not have time.

She writes in an email to SVT Sörmland that it is good that the region is reviewing the business.