Digital technology adoption is a global phenomenon, with widespread use in civilian settings such as remote working and the support of friends and family. However, psychiatric care is lagging behind.
The early promise of digital mental health was that it would replace human intervention, but thus far, digital tools have primarily been used to scale and train providers and not to provide psychotherapy.
Background
Digital technology adoption in psychiatric care has the potential to improve patient access, quality of care, and personalization. However, it also carries risks that should be carefully considered.
While many of these technologies are relatively mature, we are still at the beginning of their widespread use in psychiatric practice. One challenge that has emerged is the lack of standardized, objective measurement tools, particularly for diagnosis and assessing outcomes.
These challenges can be addressed by integrating clinically-oriented data collection into the workflow of mental health services. This can be done through the implementation of digital technology tools such as mobile apps, electronic or virtual consultations, and advanced EMT (emergency medical treatment) technology.
This approach can be a cost-effective way to improve psychiatric care. It can be used to decentralize mental health services in rural and underserved areas as well as improve access in urban communities. Additionally, it can be used to improve communication with patients and provide data-driven information to clinicians.
Methods
A wide array of digital technologies are being integrated into psychiatric care. These technologies can help expand access to mental health services and improve their deliveries can help expand access to mental health services and improve their delivery. However, misuse and improper use of these technologies can have unexpected consequences for patients with mental illness.
Using these new tools to collect passive data can also lead to unexpected coercion of patients, especially when used by clinicians who lack proper training and understanding. This calls for reassessing the degree of coercion in psychiatric care and studying ways to monitor and reduce coercive practices with digital technology.
As mental health practitioners, we have a special responsibility to foster trust in new digital technologies. We must work to ensure that the technology companies we partner with understand our need for ethical practice; a failure to do so can jeopardize our ability to use these technologies in our daily practice.
Results
Digital technologies, including mobile health apps and telepsychiatry, offer hope for expanding access to mental health care. However, these tools also pose new concerns regarding patient safety, data privacy, and the ethical implications of psychiatric technology adoption.
This study aimed to assess the extent to which psychiatric practitioners adopt and rely on digital technologies for clinical work. The results are important in determining whether and how digital technology affects the experiences of patients with psychiatric disorders.
The first set of findings suggests that psychiatrists are more likely to communicate with patients via email than by phone or in person. This may be because a high percentage of psychiatric practice is online, and therefore psychiatrists are more familiar with email as an effective communication tool.
In addition, psychiatrists are more likely to view patients who discuss information about their symptoms and illness on the Internet as more informed than those who do not. This finding could influence the way they recommend and use online resources in their practices.
Conclusions
Digital technology can be a powerful tool for improving the provision of mental healthcare. It offers the potential to address gaps in access to treatment, provide effective therapy at scale, and improve data collection while tackling ethical concerns such as privacy, trust, and governance.
Digital tools can be useful in many ways, from assessing mental health risks through electronic medical record flags and surveillance cameras to providing videoconferencing or televisitation for vulnerable patients. They can also facilitate collaboration between healthcare practitioners, patients, and family members.
Despite this, it is important to understand the potential for coercion in the use of digital technologies. This includes the potential for users to feel compelled to share their medical records with other healthcare providers or prosecutors, as illustrated by Case 4.