UK report identifies opportunities and gaps for digital tech to improve, not harm, mental health
Government urged to invest in digitisation of mental health services (Med-Tech News):
The Mental Health Tech Landscape Review, released today by Future Care Capital (FCC), not only recommends a range of measures to enable higher quality care through the use of technology, but it also shows that there is potential for the development of a wider range of different types of technology solution (as) there is the danger of mental healthcare “falling through the gaps”.
The research identified a relatively small population of companies developing mental healthcare technology. Of the developers discovered, the main technologies being developed were apps, platforms and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies. Artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and gamification approaches were also prominent in the sample…
Dr Peter Bloomfield, FCC’s head of Policy and Research, added: “Support for mental health has needed improvement for many years in the UK. The pathways for accessing services are convoluted, waiting lists are extensive, and outcomes are poor over the long term … Coming up with new ways to maintain good mental health, in a preventative way, will be as essential as providing tools for acute care and we believe technology has a significant role to play.”
The Report:
Mental Health Tech Landscape Review (by UK think tank Future Care Capital):
- Description: This research explores the tech startups deploying solutions for the mental health care market. We describe the technologies contributing to the solutions as well as specific implementations, and the benefits they bring to citizens and the mental health care workforce. There are major opportunities in adult social care for the improvement of care using technology, from both a workforce and citizen perspective. Mental healthcare sits between health and care and there are substantial opportunities to deploy technology to improve mental health … Targeted support and intervention is needed to grow the sector to provide an adequate range of companies to suit the needs of individuals, care is not one size fits all and neither are tech solutions.
The Report in Context:
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