As digital mental and behavioral health tools continue to grow rapidly across the United States, the APA Labs – a unit of APA Services, Inc. (APASI), the companion professional association of the American Psychological Association (APA), identified a critical challenge facing the market: clinicians, health systems, payers, and consumers lack a clear, trusted way to distinguish high-quality digital solutions from those that fall short on evidence, safety, and privacy.
To address this gap, APA Labs has launched the APA Labs Digital Badge Program, a new initiative designed to bring greater trust, consistency, and transparency to the digital mental health ecosystem. The program is delivered in collaboration with ORCHA, the global leader in independent digital health evaluation and assurance.
The APA Labs Digital Badge Program provides rigorous, evidence-based evaluations of digital mental and behavioral health technologies, helping companies demonstrate alignment with best practices across scientific principles, safety, data protection, usability, and technical security.
“As digital mental health adoption accelerates, it’s essential that innovation is matched with strong, science-based best practices,” said Tanya Carlson, Managing Director at APA Labs. “This program was created to give healthcare decision-makers confidence and to recognize companies who are doing the right things for patients and clinicians.”
ORCHA brings its internationally established assessment methodology and experience supporting health systems across the UK, Europe, and beyond. Through the partnership, ORCHA supports APA Labs by independently evaluating digital mental health technologies against APA Labs’ rigorous, proprietary criteria that spans six core domains, helping establish a clear playbook for responsible digital mental health innovation in the U.S.
Calm Health Earns Gold APA Labs Digital Badge and ORCHA Assured Status
Calm Health is among the first digital mental health platforms to complete the evaluation process, earning a Gold APA Labs Digital Badge, the highest designation within the APA Labs Digital Badge Program, alongside ORCHA Assured Bronze status.
“At Calm, we’re focused on creating mental health support that people can truly trust,” said Chris Mosunic, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer at Calm. “The Digital Badge program brings incredible value to the space by providing a trusted framework for safety, ethics and evidence-based practice. As an original supporter, we’re proud to display a badge that helps people make informed, confident choices about digital mental health."
Raising the Bar for Digital Mental Health
Products that have earned a Digital Badge are featured in the open-access Digital Badge Solutions Library. There, the public can review evaluated technologies and their badge status. The Digital Badge Solutions Library, supports transparency and informed decision-making for clinicians, health systems, payers, and consumers.
The APA Labs Digital Badge Program offers digital mental and behavioral health companies a clear pathway to demonstrate credibility, build trust with healthcare decision-makers, and align with emerging best-practice standards in the U.S. market.
Companies committed to evidence, safety, and quality are encouraged to participate and help shape the future of digital mental health.
Interested in earning the APA Labs Digital Badge?
To learn more about participating in the APA Labs Digital Badge Program, visit APA Labs website or contact ORCHA for more information on how to apply.
About APA Labs
APA Labs is a unit of APA Services, Inc. (APASI), the companion professional association of the American Psychological Association (APA). APA Labs supports the work of APASI through creative, collaborative, psychology-centered projects, programs, and solutions.
About ORCHA
ORCHA is the global leader in digital health evaluation and assurance, supporting health systems worldwide to safely identify, assess, and adopt trusted digital health technologies.
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