NHS England has published , to support mental health providers and clinicians as they consider whether use of digital technology is the most appropriate, effective, and least restrictive method of caring for or treating a patient in inpatient mental health settings.
It describes eight principles and further practical recommendations to guide decision-making on procurement, implementation and the use of digital technologies.
Dr Lade Smith CBE, President of the 免费黑料网, said:
“Everywhere we go in life we see the power of digital and new technology, when it is harnessed for positive intentions and used properly, the benefits to individuals and wider society are massive, with lives being improved in a range of aspects.Where it is used in a way that is not guided by the best evidence and accompanied with secure safeguards, the harms can be significant. The most dangerous of these harms can be the diminishing of confidence in its value and use by those who could most benefit from it.
“Healthcare is no different in managing this balance. We have seen already, and the pandemic accelerated and highlighted it even more, that digital technologies can support services, either stand-alone or in combination with an existing service offer. New technologies can allow for more flexibility, can offer interventions in the natural context, can reach a larger population without risk of stigma, and can be more cost-effective as compared to existing services.
“The importance of digital in improving health services going forward was reinforced in Lord Darzi’s Report last year where he highlighted technology as the key to unlocking productivity, leading to improved staff experience and patient outcomes.
“Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, web-based interventions and mobile mental health technologies – such as smartphone apps, virtual reality, chatbots, and social media – have all increased in use. These digital health technologies offer the potential of accessible and scalable interventions that can augment traditional care.
“Research increasingly shows how selective and targeted use of technology can have a meaningful impact on the quality of care and the role users can take in the organisation and delivery of services. For example, users may be able to have more control over their care, especially in the context of chronic illness.
“The treatment of mental illness, far from being an area where digital is more difficult to use has already shown itself to be in many ways a trailblazer with many initiatives including the RCPsych work on the Data and Digital Literacy Framework for psychiatrists and eLearning () highlighting how those with mental illness can receive better care with effective digital availability alongside a fully staffed and trained workforce.
“That is why the College is calling on the UK Government to ensure that the expansion of digital and the resources allocated to deliver it helps address the longstanding and unacceptable gap in parity of esteem between physical and mental health care. Anything less would be a betrayal of the commitments that have been made to those with mental illness and will impact significantly on policies in other UK Government areas to improve the productivity of the country as a whole.
“As we have seen this increase in the importance of digital over the years, one of the most important and welcome changes we have also seen is a recognition of the voice and choices of patients being central to all we do in mental health services.
“There is no conflict between the use of digital and that patient voice. In fact, where it is delivered effectively, each of the individual components are enhanced.
“That is why we welcome initiatives such as the principles recently published by NHS England which highlight how, through their implementation, we can see an acceleration of the use of digital where it is adopted in a way that includes commitments to:
- Transparent consent models
- Guards against inappropriate use
- Clinical benefits always being its driver, never being used to replace needed face to face care because of lack of staff
“We have seen examples where these principles have not necessarily been adopted and the impact has been not only to affect the ability of that particular initiative, but to also affect longer term use in the confidence of digital and technology based models in the treatment and care of those with mental illness.
“The College is calling upon all parts of the system from allocation of resources by the UK Government, through to those delivering and receiving services to seize the opportunities that exist to improve outcomes through the use of this technology. The alternative would be a further widening of the gap in esteem between physical and mental illness. We must not allow that to happen.”
For further information, please contact:
- Email: press@rcpsych.ac.uk
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- Out-of-hours contact number: 07860 755896