This morning IBH, a tech-enabled population health platform, announced its plans to acquire digital mental health company Uprise.

Both companies work in the employer health space and focus in on behavioral health. As part of the acquisition, IBH will take ownership of Uprise's platform, which enables mental healthcare via self-guided modules, live coaching and in-person therapy.

Employees can complete a wellbeing checklist and receive a score with advice about their wellness. As part of the system, employees designated at-risk get a call within 24 hours of their assessment, and are then triaged to appropriate services. Employees not designated as at-risk can tap into digital services.

According to IBH, this acquisition will merge together large data sets, which can in turn be used to gain insights about member needs.

Currently, IBH focuses on behavioral health, substance-abuse monitoring, and population health, including occupational health and maternity management. The company offers telehealth services as part of its employee-assistance and managed-behavioral-health programs.

This news comes just months after IBH announced the acquisition of HMC Healthworks, which specializes in chronic care management and data analytics.

WHY IT MATTERS

Behavioral health issues are common in the United States. According to the CDC, 11.2% of adults report feeling worried, anxious or nervousness. Another 4.7% report regularly feeling depressed.

Employer mental health has increasingly become a focus around the world. According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The organization reports that depression costs the U.S. economy roughly $210 billion a year in absenteeism, reduced productivity and medical costs.

THE LARGER TREND

Several digital health companies have begun to focus on the employer mental health space. For example, Modern Health, a mental health-and-wellness platform, landed $74 million in Series C funding in February to help bolster its behavioral health management technology.

Across the pond, U.K.-based Unmind scored $10 million in Series A funding in 2020 for its workplace mental health platform.

The digital mental health space is hot right now. Rock Health highlighted the virtual mental-healthcare space as a clear beneficiary of COVID-19-driven demand.