BOSTON, May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amwell® , a leading provider of a comprehensive SaaS-based software platform for technology-enabled healthcare, today highlighted results from an independently led, National Institute of Mental Health-funded randomized trial published in Nature Human Behaviour examining SilverCloud® by Amwell®, the company’s digital behavioral health solution.

Conducted across 26 U.S. colleges and universities, the study included 6,205 students at clinical or high-risk levels for anxiety, depression, and/or eating disorders, making it one of the largest independent studies of its kind.

The study, led by renowned investigators from Washington University, Penn State University and University of California, Los Angeles, used a proactive care model designed to reach students before conditions worsened. Researchers screened nearly 40,000 students and offered support to those identified as being at elevated risk, rather than relying only on traditional pathways that require students to seek care on their own.

Principal Investigator Michelle G. Newman, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Penn State University shares her insights on the study:

"Our goal was early detection of those at risk or meeting clinical levels for five mental health conditions, and to test whether digital mental health could move care upstream — reaching people earlier, before symptoms worsen, and doing so at population scale.”

Individuals offered SilverCloud were over twice as likely to engage:

74.4% participation with SilverCloud30.2% participation with traditional behavioral health solutions Compared to screening and referral to in-person care, those who received digital behavioral healthcare had:

4.3% lower prevalence of having any mental disorder at six weeks4.9% lower prevalence at six months3.8% lower prevalence at two years

This positive impact was consistent across student populations, including minoritized students and those experiencing financial stress. The findings also point to the potential economic value of prevention and earlier intervention at scale.

When asked about the impact of the study, co-investigator Daniel Eisenberg, PhD, Health Economist, Professor of Health Policy and Management, UCLA said,

“The findings suggest meaningful potential economic value. Taking into account the 3.8% lower prevalence of measured mental disorders at two years, this difference could translate into up to approximately $1.18 million in avoided mental health–related costs within the study sample.”

The findings add to the evidence supporting digital mental health programs as part of a broader care strategy for higher education institutions, health plans, and other organizations seeking to expand access to clinically rigorous support. By combining proactive outreach with a structured digital intervention, the study points to a model that may help address both participation and long-term outcomes in populations with significant unmet need.

About Amwell  

Amwell offers payers and health systems a single, comprehensive, technology-enabled care platform. We use technology to provide patients with better access to more convenient, affordable and effective care. The Amwell Platform includes software and services that power many clinical programs from Amwell and our growing number of partners. Our platform allows patients to experience unified, personalized and simple access to diversified clinical programs across the care continuum. As more people seek care online and more clinical programs become available, we offer integrated, future-ready, consistent solutions. The Amwell Platform is proven, operating at a large scale, enabling care for millions of patients and their sponsors while delivering dependable outcomes. For almost two decades, Amwell has proudly served some of the largest and most sophisticated healthcare organizations in the U.S. and worldwide. For more information, visit business.amwell.com or LinkedIn.

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Source: Amwell