Case Study: Healthy Santiago expands mental health access with McKinsey & Company

Healthy Santiago closes up to 45% of the mental health access gap with McKinsey & Company

Healthy Santiago, a city-level mental health initiative in the Chilean capital, faced a growing mental health crisis affecting vulnerable populations like youth and isolated seniors. The challenge was a lack of timely support due to long waiting lists and limited specialist capacity. McKinsey & Company, through its McKinsey Health Institute (MHI), partnered with the initiative to address this access gap.

McKinsey & Company helped implement a task-sharing model, training trusted community members and clinical providers to deliver evidence-based mental health interventions under specialist supervision. This solution was integrated into existing community settings like schools and primary care centers. The results were significant: the program reached over 2,700 individuals and families, closed up to 45% of the access gap, and generated a societal return on investment (SROI) of up to 17x by lowering healthcare costs and improving outcomes.

Healthy Santiago