By Dr Lloyd Humphreys, BSc (Hons), MPhil, DClinPsych, MBA (Hons) - Head of Europe - SilverCloud Health
(Source https://healthmanagement.org/) While capacity in the health system was increased to manage COVID-19 infections, the experience for mental health was very different – services were closed and referrals fell by up to 90%. What are the lessons learnt for managing mental health services in a future pandemic and what is the role of digital technology?
Mental health has had a different experience during the pandemic than services managing the COVID-19 infection – mental health services closed, referrals fell by up to 90%.
Data predicts a six-fold increase in mental health referrals in the wake of the pandemic, underlying the need for a tech-enabled mental health services model.
Scaling up of technology gets overlooked in incident planning, and the impact of this on the vulnerable not getting appropriate level of mental health care.
Planning is key for digital therapy technology suppliers, e.g. load testing, capacity, security and ability to scale up.
To avoid the ‘wild west’ of apps and digital solutions, service providers should consider scaling up across their different services and a range of mental health conditions.
A multi-channel approach should be used to drive awareness of solutions, with coordination between national bodies.
Read the full article on https://healthmanagement.org