Glossary
Ghost network
A ghost network is a provider directory full of listings that look available but aren't — therapists who are not accepting new clients, no longer at the listed practice, or not actually reachable.
Why it happens
Directories and insurer networks are often paid to list providers, not to keep listings accurate. A 2023 U.S. Senate Finance Committee secret-shopper study found a large share of listed mental-health providers were unreachable or unavailable — the core failure ghost networks describe.
How Kairn addresses it
Kairn asks each provider to report overall capacity on a fixed cadence and pauses stale listings. The dated report is not live calendar inventory and does not guarantee an opening, response, appointment, or fit. The accuracy report publishes aggregate response and freshness measures.