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Lim CT, Fuchs C, Torous J. Integrated Digital Mental Health Care: A Vision for Addressing Population Mental Health Needs. Int J Gen Med 2024; 17:359-365. [PMID: 38318335 PMCID: PMC10840519 DOI: 10.2147/ijgm.s449474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The unmet need for mental health care continues to rise across the world. This article synthesizes the evidence supporting the components of a hypothetical model of integrated digital mental health care to meet population-wide mental health needs. This proposed model integrates two approaches to broadening timely access to effective care: integrated, primary care-based mental health services and digital mental health tools. The model solves for several of the key challenges historically faced by digital health, through promoting digital literacy and access, the curation of evidence-based digital tools, integration into clinical practice, and electronic medical record integration. This model builds upon momentum toward the integration of mental health services within primary care and aligns with the principles of the Collaborative Care Model. Finally, the authors present the major next steps toward implementation of integrated digital mental health care at scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Population Health Services, Boston Medical Center Health System, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cara Fuchs
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - John Torous
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Lenze E, Torous J, Arean P. Digital and precision clinical trials: innovations for testing mental health medications, devices, and psychosocial treatments. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:205-214. [PMID: 37550438 PMCID: PMC10700595 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01664-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Mental health treatment advances - including neuropsychiatric medications and devices, psychotherapies, and cognitive treatments - lag behind other fields of clinical medicine such as cardiovascular care. One reason for this gap is the traditional techniques used in mental health clinical trials, which slow the pace of progress, produce inequities in care, and undermine precision medicine goals. Newer techniques and methodologies, which we term digital and precision trials, offer solutions. These techniques consist of (1) decentralized (i.e., fully-remote) trials which improve the speed and quality of clinical trials and increase equity of access to research, (2) precision measurement which improves success rate and is essential for precision medicine, and (3) digital interventions, which offer increased reach of, and equity of access to, evidence-based treatments. These techniques and their rationales are described in detail, along with challenges and solutions for their utilization. We conclude with a vignette of a depression clinical trial using these techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Lenze
- Departments of Psychiatry and Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
| | - John Torous
- Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Patricia Arean
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Hamlin M, Holmén J, Wentz E, Aiff H, Ali L, Steingrimsson S. Patient Experience of Digitalized Follow-up of Antidepressant Treatment in Psychiatric Outpatient Care: Qualitative Analysis. JMIR Ment Health 2023; 10:e48843. [PMID: 37819697 PMCID: PMC10600645 DOI: 10.2196/48843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nonadherence to pharmaceutical antidepressant treatment is common among patients with depression. Digitalized follow-up (ie, self-monitoring systems through mobile apps) has been suggested as an effective adjunct to conventional antidepressant treatment to increase medical adherence, improve symptoms of depression, and reduce health care resource use. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine patients' experience of digitalized follow-up using a mobile app as an adjunct to treatment concurrent with a new prescription, a change of antidepressant, or a dose increase. METHODS This was a qualitative, descriptive study. Patients at 2 psychiatric outpatient clinics were recruited at the time of changing antidepressant medication. After using a mobile app (either a commercial app or a public app) for 4-6 weeks with daily registrations of active data, such as medical intake and questions concerning general mental health status, individual semistructured interviews were conducted. Recorded data were transcribed and then analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS In total, 13 patients completed the study. The mean age was 35 (range 20-67) years, 8 (61.5%) were female, and all reported high digital literacy. Overall, the emerging themes indicated that the patients found the digital app to be a valuable adjunct to antidepressant treatment but with potential for improvement. Both user adherence and medical adherence were positively affected by a daily reminder and the app's ease of use. User adherence was negatively affected by the severity of depression. The positive experience of visually presented data as graphs was a key finding, which was beneficial for self-awareness, the patient-physician relationship, and user adherence. Finally, the patients had mixed reactions to the app's content and requested tailored content. CONCLUSIONS The patients identified several factors addressing both medical adherence and user adherence to a digital app when using it for digitalized follow-up concurrent with the critical time related to changes in antidepressant medication. The findings highlight the need for rigorous evidence-based empirical studies to generate sustainable research results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matilda Hamlin
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Joacim Holmén
- Department of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Elisabet Wentz
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Harald Aiff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lilas Ali
- Department of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Steinn Steingrimsson
- Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden
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Clay I, Peerenboom N, Connors DE, Bourke S, Keogh A, Wac K, Gur-Arie T, Baker J, Bull C, Cereatti A, Cormack F, Eggenspieler D, Foschini L, Ganea R, Groenen PM, Gusset N, Izmailova E, Kanzler CM, Leyens L, Lyden K, Mueller A, Nam J, Ng WF, Nobbs D, Orfaniotou F, Perumal TM, Piwko W, Ries A, Scotland A, Taptiklis N, Torous J, Vereijken B, Xu S, Baltzer L, Vetter T, Goldhahn J, Hoffmann SC. Reverse Engineering of Digital Measures: Inviting Patients to the Conversation. Digit Biomark 2023; 7:28-44. [PMID: 37206894 PMCID: PMC10189241 DOI: 10.1159/000530413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Digital measures offer an unparalleled opportunity to create a more holistic picture of how people who are patients behave in their real-world environments, thereby establishing a better connection between patients, caregivers, and the clinical evidence used to drive drug development and disease management. Reaching this vision will require achieving a new level of co-creation between the stakeholders who design, develop, use, and make decisions using evidence from digital measures. Summary In September 2022, the second in a series of meetings hosted by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health Biomarkers Consortium, and sponsored by Wellcome Trust, entitled "Reverse Engineering of Digital Measures," was held in Zurich, Switzerland, with a broad range of stakeholders sharing their experience across four case studies to examine how patient centricity is essential in shaping development and validation of digital evidence generation tools. Key Messages In this paper, we discuss progress and the remaining barriers to widespread use of digital measures for evidence generation in clinical development and care delivery. We also present key discussion points and takeaways in order to continue discourse and provide a basis for dissemination and outreach to the wider community and other stakeholders. The work presented here shows us a blueprint for how and why the patient voice can be thoughtfully integrated into digital measure development and that continued multistakeholder engagement is critical for further progress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Alison Keogh
- Insight Centre for Data Analytics, UC Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Mobilise-D, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Katarzyna Wac
- Quality of Life Lab, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Tova Gur-Arie
- Mobilise-D, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | | | - Christopher Bull
- Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
- IDEA-FAST, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Andrea Cereatti
- Mobilise-D, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Polytechnic University of Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Francesca Cormack
- IDEA-FAST, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Cambridge Cognition Ltd, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Arne Mueller
- Mobilise-D, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Novartis, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Julian Nam
- F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Wan-Fai Ng
- Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
- IDEA-FAST, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - David Nobbs
- IDEA-FAST, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Wojciech Piwko
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Anja Ries
- F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alf Scotland
- Biogen Digital Health International GmbH, Baar, Switzerland
| | - Nick Taptiklis
- IDEA-FAST, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Cambridge Cognition Ltd, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Beatrix Vereijken
- Mobilise-D, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | | | | | | | - Jörg Goldhahn
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland
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