Dana Lane
March 28, 2024
•
10 mins de lectura
Digital psychiatry has mostly consisted of digital versions of existing therapies for DSM-based classifications of diseases. However, Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) and advanced analytics hold enormous potential to revolutionize the field of psychiatry, using rich data continuously emanating from individuals to produce novel ground-up discoveries in emotion and behavior. For digital psychiatry to achieve this potential, it will require a fundamental shift in how we enable individuals to collect such high-resolution data, how health insights are discovered and returned, and in patient-healthcare provider roles. This article discusses how DHTs and analytics can help diagnose mental illness, how to collect high-resolution data from patients, and the shift from categorical DSM-based approaches to a much more fine-grained phenomenological understanding of the human experience. This article also discusses how individuals will be equipped with agency-building tools to better understand themselves through the return of personalized health insights. The desired end-state is a ubiquitous remote tool – a central smartphone app that integrates artificial intelligence and high-resolution multimodal information from wearable devices and the smartphone itself that nudges the user when entering a state of increased risk.
In conclusion, the field of digital psychiatry holds immense potential to transform the way we approach mental healthcare. The use of digital health technologies and advanced analytics allows for the collection of rich, real-time data on individuals' behavior, emotion, and physiological measures. This data, when combined with AI and machine learning, can provide personalized insights and interventions for individuals outside the traditional healthcare system. By shifting towards a participant-driven mental health approach, individuals can take an active role in managing and understanding their mental health, while nudges and warnings can facilitate early detection and prevention of mental health issues. The redesign of digital psychiatry is still in its early stages, but with continued research and development, it has the potential to revolutionize the field and improve outcomes for individuals struggling with mental health issues.
References:
Goodday, S., Karlin, D., & Friend, S. (2023). The digital redesign of mental health: Leveraging connected digital technologies for agency-driven patient-focused care. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 222(2), 51-53. doi:10.1192/bjp.2022.152
