Question 1

How is Supportiv implemented with a partner?

Accepted Answer

Good news: Supportiv is not an another app! With partner needs front-of-mind, we designed it as a web-responsive chat widget (webapp) that is ultra-flexible on where and how it can appear for your population. Your population’s entry points tag traffic for the reporting you’ll receive.

We have two implementation options and recommend using both:

1. We’ll create a dedicated co-branded landing page just for your population that can be accessed on any device, and we’ll drive traffic to that URL, where your chat widget lives.

2. For your own platform, portal, or site or app, Supportiv has one of the fastest integration methods. Our widget can be added with just one line of JavaScript code. Supportiv’s technical team handles everything behind the scenes with scaling, real-time performance, monitoring and load balancing. The entire process can be completed in two weeks, with less than an hour spent by the client’s tech team.

Because Supportiv is anonymous, we are expedited past PHI security review. Supportiv is SOC2 compliant, and has already passed numerous legal, privacy, security, and tech reviews with multiple Fortune 10 employer and health plan clients.

Question 2

How do you build awareness so our people actually use Supportiv?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv prides itself on making end user communications, awareness building, and user engagement as light a lift as possible for partner organizations. From crafting newsletter blurbs and content for your own website, to delivering fully designed and client-approved emails, flyers, and direct mail, we do it all. We especially love “boots on the ground” efforts to engage end users by sending in our client success and end user activation team. Supportiv is super willing to get creative beyond these listed options, and from our perspective, the sky’s the limit!

Question 3

What kind of reporting is available?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv reports on program utilization, engagement and retention metrics, user satisfaction, and outcomes measurements from usage, as well as demographics. Additionally, we can offer topic modeling from the struggles (aggregated) shared by your population for additional insight into their identifiable needs.

We report outcomes and user satisfaction via a range of quantitative and qualitative measures. For example, at the end of each session, we ask users “Do you feel better?” They are presented with a screen that permits them to select 1-5 stars. We also provide a free-text comment box and share qualitative feedback.

Return users are served PHQ-8, GAD-7, PSS, UCLA-Loneliness, or WHO surveys for longitudinal scoring. Most uniquely, we use validated third-party research institution language models to measure sentiment and emotion changes over the course of a single Supportiv conversation.

Supportiv offers options of monthly, quarterly, or annual reporting. We are open to what’s best for any given client.

Question 4

What’s the average utilization?

Accepted Answer

Across our book of business, we see annual utilization rates of 4%-30%, depending on the amount of proactive outreach that we are greenlit to engage in for a particular client population. Supportiv has a team dedicated to end user activation which uses traditional, digital, social/community, and guerrilla awareness-building techniques. We often appreciate the opportunity to leverage our “menu” of proven techniques to develop an outreach marketing plan in collaboration with our health plan partners.

Question 5

How do you handle someone in a crisis?

Accepted Answer

All Supportiv moderators are thoroughly trained to live-monitor their chat conversations looking for signs that a user may need specialized support and a safety protocol should be enacted to make that determination. Supportiv also has AI assisting the moderators to scans all chats for language around emergency situations.

Escalation protocols and referrals to specialized services exist for:
● Suicide
● Sexual Assault
● Domestic Violence
● Elder Abuse
● Medical Emergencies

Should a user respond to a protocol question indicating that they are in passive suicidal ideation without a plan or intent to act, they may converse freely in the chats and be guided through their feelings.

Should a user respond to the protocol indicating that there is indeed an active crisis, the moderator responds that they care about the user’s safety and are going to refer them for specialized help. Crisis escalation routing can be customized per partner preferences.

Question 6

Who are the moderators and what kind of training do they get?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv moderators are psychology students (graduate and undergraduate) who’ve been rigorously trained over hundreds of hours in an academy training program with curriculum developed by a Stanford University academic who is a PhD in Clinical Psychology. No small group peer-to-peer chat ever takes place without a moderator present and leading the conversation in real-time.

Once they complete their training, Supportiv moderators can ask facilitative questions, ensure the experience of empathy, mute or remove any troublemakers, route people to crisis services, and share resources with the group, among other capabilities.

Moderators’ day-to-day chat interactions are reviewed by our clinical oversight team including a PhD in Counseling Psychology and multiple Certified Peer Support Specialists.

Question 7

What can be customized for my population?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv can create customized co-branded landing pages and chat widget designs for your population. Partners can designate customized crisis referral destinations.

Clients can add organization-specific resources for Supportiv to recommend in chats based on your user population members’ expressed needs, like other covered benefits and services.

Supportiv can also customize outreach and end user activation efforts to your population’s characteristics and unique needs.

Question 8

Is Supportiv available in other languages?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv is expanding into languages that are relevant for Medicaid and global employers in 2024!

Question 9

How does Supportiv ensure accessibility?

Accepted Answer

We value digital inclusion! Supportiv’s service is offered digitally via a device-agnostic, web-responsive chat widget which can stand alone at a custom URL and landing page for a client OR be embedded in partner websites, apps, platforms, and other software. It is available on all mobile (iOS and android), tablet, and desktop devices.

Our web accessibility score is high (90+). We have embedded accessibility into our design and creative process, based on client’s needs, all the way into development and product iterations in our agile methodology.

Our process involves automatic and manual testing with the goal of identifying and resolving access barriers, conforming with all Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design (ADA) and all World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AAA Success Criteria. We strive to ensure an optimal user experience for all users, regardless of their individual abilities.

Question 10

How do you de-risk this? Security and privacy guarantees?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv is 100% anonymous. Enterprise users are never asked for their name, identification number, work location, a credit card, or any contact information, and they do not need to register with any identifying information at all. Each user decides their own display name, which can be anything.

In reporting back to clients, Supportiv never provides individual user messages or usernames; only anonymized aggregate information for a given period of time.

Supportiv is an anonymous service and doesn’t require email, passwords or registration. We also do not require authentication tokens or require eligibility files or other data shared up front. For all user data, we use fully encrypted cloud databases which are HIPAA compliant. Unlike many other wellbeing technology companies, Supportiv does not use tracking pixels for digital marketing purposes.

Users must abide by the following rules to continue using Supportiv:

• Do not share any contact info
• No judgment, attacks or harassing
• No solicitation, spam or sexual conduct
• Avoid triggers like religion and profanity
• Must be age 13+

Rule offenders will be muted and/or removed.

The moderator constantly monitors the discussion for inappropriate behavior and will mute, kick out, or ban members who may impact the safety or experience of other members. Inappropriate messages are removed from the chat in real-time, as needed.

If a user requires intervention for their own safety, we have multiple referral protocols/mechanisms in place to address safety concerns such as: Medical Emergencies, Physical Danger (Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Elder Abuse), and Panic Attacks. AI models flag such messages to ensure they are not missed by the chat moderator. The chat moderator then refers the user to the most appropriate escalation service.

Please refer to these links to Supportiv’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. These terms may be customized in collaboration between the Supportiv team and a given client.

Question 11

How does Supportiv address Social Determinants of Health?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv holds a patent for in-chat referrals based on the natural language expressed needs of chat participants typing about what is happening in their lives. Referrals often cover social determinants of health such as food and financial insecurity, discrimination, transportation needs, and more. Referrals are hyper-personalized and appear in a sidebar “tray” that can open and overlay the chat messages when a new referral appears. (This design is also patented.)

When a recommendation is made, it includes organization name, contact info (as hyperlinks for one-click access), a brief description that shows why a recipient might want to use this resource, hours of operation, and any relevant partner-specific information.

Question 12

What does this cost for my population?

Accepted Answer

Supportiv’s price point varies by contract volume and customizations. We follow your lead in your preferred pricing structure including PEPM/PMPM (pennies!), annual population-wide licenses, and even ROI-driven value based care.

Question 13

Can we see user testimonials?

Accepted Answer

Thousands of Supportiv user testimonials are available at supportiv.com/testimonials.

Question 14

How do we contact Supportiv for more info?

Accepted Answer

We’ll be happy to set up a time to connect with you via info@supportiv.com and 1-800-845–0015.

Question 15

How does Supportiv approach cultural competence?

Accepted Answer

We look beyond cultural competence in our approach – to cultural humility.

The cultural setting of each person’s struggle is so unique, from race and ethnicity, all the way down to community and even family culture, that “competence” is the wrong goal. Assessing competence relies on generalization across cultural groups. Making competence your main goal may erase the nuance of an individual’s intersectional cultural background.

So, we’re not trying to know what’s best for someone (“be competent”) going in. We let each person dictate what’s normal for THEM, in the chats, and achieve cultural humility by never issuing advice or directives.

FAQs Answered