Dr David Griffiths is a practising GP and the Medical Director of Consultant Connect. In this blog article, Dr Griffiths writes about the technological advances that are revolutionising mental health support in the UK.
The short answer to this question is YES! The time frame for these changes and which developments have the most impact is less certain.
There are several areas where I think tech can make a difference:
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Accessibility
- Online services are accessible whenever and wherever needed. Those who feel a stigma about seeking support for their mental health may find the bar to use much lower.
- We have already seen a huge uptake in online services via phone and video calls. Both can be highly effective and are much simpler for patients to access. There is a loss: rapport building can be more difficult remotely, but the benefits are clear.
- Asynchronous support via messaging can be very beneficial. Many patients prefer this less intense way of accessing advice, and it’s also efficient.
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Efficiency
- Automation will remove many less value-adding aspects of clinicians’ working lives. Flowing individuals to the right part of a service makes a huge difference to both the patient experience and organisational productivity. Administrative tasks and appointment preparation are also ripe for automation.
- Digital note-taking apps are proliferating in the healthcare space, with AI creating medical notes based on the conversation between clinician and patient.
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Personalisation
- AI can help mental health services offer ever more personalised services, designed for an individual’s presentation and preferences. Many services already use algorithms to direct patients to the right therapy type.
- More novel applications, currently in their infancy, include neuro-feedback, where individuals receive data about their own brainwaves to learn how to adapt thinking and behaviours.
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Pattern recognition
- AI will increase our ability to detect patterns in symptoms and physical parameters. Over time, systems will get better and better at linking these patterns, for example, spotting signs of imminent deterioration or assessing treatment response.
- An early version of this was the True Colours service in Oxford, which prompted patients to record their feelings and symptoms over time using email and SMS.
- New wearable technology, such as fitness trackers and the Oura ring, is already increasing the amount and quality of data available.
- Devices to measure skin impedance (and, therefore, sweating) may also help track stress levels and identify the signs early enough to avoid escalation to panic attacks.
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New modalities
- Video games have been suggested as ways to help children, in particular, build emotional resilience. They have also been trialled as treatments for depression.
- Virtual Reality (VR) also has great potential, for example, as a safe way to offer exposure therapy for phobias or to enhance relaxation. VR has been used to reduce patients’ pain when having leg ulcer dressings changed—the distraction is immensely helpful. I expect to see many new applications in the mental health space.
Of course, digital health has its own challenges. Algorithms can reinforce systemic inequalities; AI learns from existing data, and this will contain biases. There will be privacy concerns about how and where the sensitive mental health data generated by new systems is stored. And, while the convenience of remote care is undeniable, in-person contact does add something: enhanced opportunities to pick up cues and the potential for touch, which can be powerful in the emotive setting of mental health.
As a GP, I’m not worried about becoming obsolete just yet. I am excited about the potential of new services and technologies that could and should augment, enhance and, yes, revolutionise mental health provision. The future is bright!
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about services to support mental health care services in your area, please email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk or call us on 01865 261 467.
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