For health and social care to benefit from digital technologies there needs to be a vibrant ecosystem with innovations that are problem-led and rapid to implement, while using the best evidence-based technology. The evolution of the ecosystem is far from this ideal and risks being shaped by dysfunction.
The design, development, implementation and use of digital technologies in health and care can be considered to be an ecosystem made up of provider organisations, staff, patients, carers, innovators, regulators, researchers, charities and suppliers. It’s a complex ecosystem with many interacting parts, each one with different incentives and aspirations that can make them pull in slightly different directions. If the ecosystem is healthy, it should create a number of benefits for all parts of the system.
The review showed that robust evidence for the effectiveness of iCBT as an add-on to TAU is still limited, with results not necessarily generalisable to people from different backgrounds based on age, gender, education, and mental healthcare settings. Clearly more research is needed, as remotely delivered, self-guided iCBT has the promise to increase accessibility and be more cost-effective.
VR may be an effective environment for psychosis patients with agoraphobia. Although patients are aware that VR environments are not real, they very closely match real-world experiences and allow for greater engagement with treatment (Lambe et al., 2020). Psychosis patients are more likely to enter situations within VR that they would otherwise find incredibly distressing in the real world and this allows a safe space for experimentation (Lambe et al., 2020).
This study examined how health and social care professionals and managers perceive the effects of digitalisation on the work of professionals.
Open Access Article
This study examined how health and social care professionals and managers perceive the effects of digitalisation on the work of professionals.
Open Access Article
Virtual wards are increasingly being used by the NHS to provide care to patients where they live, whether in a care setting or at home. The NHS has been set a target of 40–50 virtual wards per 100,000 people and, more immediately, to scale up capacity ahead of next winter, to above 10,000 beds by this autumn. This report sets out the critical factors needed to enable the NHS to succeed in achieving these targets and to make virtual wards a sustainable model in the longer term, where patient demand and satisfaction are met, as well as better productivity.
Although search engines sometimes highlight specific search results relevant to health, many resources remain underpromoted.5 AI assistants may have a greater responsibility to provide actionable information, given their single-response design. Partnerships between public health agencies and AI companies must be established to promote public health resources with demonstrated effectiveness. For instance, public health agencies could disseminate a database of recommended resources, especially since AI companies potentially lack subject matter expertise to make these recommendations, and these resources could be incorporated into fine-tuning responses to public health questions. New regulations, such as limiting liability for AI companies who implement these recommendations, since they may not be protected by 47 US Code § 230, could encourage adoption of government recommended resources by AI companies.
Implications for practice and research
Digital mental health interventions may be useful to complement in-person mental health services, with sufficient supports for meaningful use.
User-centred design research with adults with intellectual disabilities and supporters is needed at all phases of digital mental health intervention development and evaluation.
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Digital technologies can change how health and care organisations are structured and how they work. They can have an impact on who leaders or staff can reach and hear from: staff can be engaged over longer periods of time and across wider groups of colleagues, and leaders can quantify perceptions of services and reduce their dependency on anecdotal information.
Devices and internet connectivity are essential for effective digital services but so are good design, co-development and trust. The use and beneficial impact of digital technologies and data is much more likely if technology is useable and trusted, while also meeting the needs and expectations of staff and patients.
Telepsychiatry has the potential to facilitate access to mental health services for young people with first-episode of psychosis (FEP); however, limited attention has been given regarding the perceptions of mental health providers in this regard.
Research limitations/implications
The main applications of mHealth for epidemic/pandemic outbreaks included public health aspects, data management, educational programs, diagnosis as well as treatment. mHealth is an appropriate method for encountering epidemic/pandemic outbreaks due to its extensive applications. In the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, mHealth is one of the best choices to use in the patient-physician relationship as Tele-visits, using in fever coach, providing real-time information for healthcare providers, population monitoring and detecting the diseases based on data obtained from different locations. These findings will help the mHealth providers to design their services accordingly. To read the full article, please contact the library.
Digital health was given impetus by the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrated its potential for the delivery of safe care in the community. ... Continued attention is required to meet the needs of those without access to digital technology and its use.
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Commentary on: Bhatia R, Gilliam E, Aliberti G, Pinheiro A, Karamourtopoulos M, Davis RB, DesRochers L, Schonberg MA. Older adults' perspectives on primary care telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Implications for practice and research
As the undoubtful potential of telemedicine was proved during the last pandemic, older adults’ experience with telemedicine must be recognised and understood.
In order to maximise the profits of telemedicine, further initiatives, should be employed to satisfy the challenges that old people may experience in accessing telemedicine services.
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The Digital apps and reducing ethnic health inequalities report, published by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, measured the variation in use and experience of online apps by ethnicity. It then used the findings to make a series of recommendations for NHS leaders and providers.
Connected: Remote technology in mental health services finds that using remote technology can improve access to mental health support for rural communities, disabled people or people needing a specialist service far from home. It has the potential to increase access and choice in mental health care.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported the development by the team led by NPU’s Professor Li Xuelong, who decided to approach the “drone-laser relationship from another angle.”
21 jan 2023
They sought to fit a drone with a photoelectric conversion module (or a solar panel) that converted light energy into electricity and used a high-energy laser beam to track and power it remotely.
We aimed to identify the factors associated with satisfaction with telerehabilitation in families with children with neurodevelopmental disorders through a program that included physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.