The algorithm is set to guide smarter, faster, and healthier outcomes across NHS mental health services
- SilverCloud Health puts new machine-learning tool into real world trial with Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Designed originally by SilverCloud Science in conjunction with Microsoft Research, the new tool is the focus of a new randomised controlled trial (RCT)
- The tool works alongside the SilverCloud Health iCBT platform, helping to map out optimum paths of recovery for patients, allowing for faster resolution of mental health problems
This month sees the launch of a new randomised controlled trial (RCT) where an innovative machine-learning (ML) tool is being used to help improve outcomes for patients accessing mental health services. Born out of Project Talia, a partnership with Microsoft Research, SilverCloud Science’s ML tool, that predicts clinical outcomes, is being set to work in a real-world setting.
SilverCloud Science and Microsoft Research originally developed the algorithm, which uses machine-learning to analyse thousands of patient outcomes, in order to accurately predict clinical outcomes of new users.
The RCT (ISRCTN registry number 18059067) is being carried out in partnership with the Talking Therapies service at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, one of the country’s most innovative NHS providers integrating scalable digital solutions to meet the need of its patient population, alongside SilverCloud Health, the UK’s leading digital mental health platform.
Once a patient starts to work through one of SilverCloud’s clinically proven digital Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) programmes, the new tool can accurately make predictions as to the likelihood of success on a particular pathway. Moreover, if success is unlikely, the tool provides the individual’s coach with bespoke insight, allowing them to redirect the patient towards alternative tools and modules, improving their chances of recovery.
“It’s exciting to think that technology could help us to accurately predict treatment outcomes,” says Alison Salvadori, Head of Service for Talking Therapies, at Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, a recognised Global Digital Exemplar Trust [1].
“There is the potential for this knowledge to help us to make changes during a patient’s course of treatment to help them get the right support at the right time.
“We would hope that this, in turn, might improve both patient experiences and rates of recovery.”
The study is a first of its kind, as in addition to being built by a cross-collaborative research team of Microsoft and SilverCloud engineers and mental health experts, it was designed and embedded into the platform through UX design by SilverCloud’s team of designers and developers. Full results on how the tool impacted clinician decision-making and user outcomes are set to be published later this year.
This intimate understanding of future outcomes enables NHS mental health services, like those at Berkshire Healthcare, to assess and then direct patients to the tools and clinical modules best suited to them for personalised, improved outcomes. With the demand for mental health services having grown exponentially during the pandemic, it is more important than ever to build success-driven patient specific pathways. SilverCloud Health’s iCBT programmes thus can offer both an effective alternative and an adjunct to face-to-face treatments.
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Notes for editors
- SilverCloud Health was born out of Dublin’s Trinity College
- SilverCloud Science is the research branch of SilverCloud Health, leading innovation in digital mental health
- SilverCloud Health’s mental health programmes are created by clinical psychologists and digital scientists and have a body of research supporting their results
- SilverCloud Health has helped over 900k people globally through their online mental health programmes
- Having partnered with the NHS almost two decades ago, SilverCloud Health are pioneers in the delivery of digital mental health services, and today are the NHS’ no. 1 provider
- NHS Talking Therapies Berkshire, an IAPT psychological therapy service provided by Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, has worked with SilverCloud to develop digital content. The service offers a range of SilverCloud’s iCBT programmes, covering treatments across the spectrum of mental healthcare, from anxiety and depression to perinatal support for new parents https://talkingtherapies.berkshirehealthcare.nhs.uk
- SilverCloud’s iCBT programmes cover a wide range of mental health needs, from support for anxiety and depression, to therapy designed to help new parents
- 56% of patients with a clinical diagnosis of anxiety or depression were diagnosis-free after three months using SilverCloud’s digital programmes [1]
- The average IAPT service waiting time is currently 8.1 weeks [2]
Interview opportunities
The digital health scientists and clinical psychologists who developed the algorithm and designed the tool
- Lead investigator of the RCT, Dr Jorge Palacios, Senior Digital Health Scientist
- Head of IAPT services, NHS Berkshire Foundation Trust
- CEO of SilverCloud Health, Ken Cahill
For further information please contact:
Theresa Dunthorne, Lily Spencer or Sarah Winterbottom at ROAD Communications, +44 (0)20 8995 5832
About SilverCloud Health:
SilverCloud Health, part of Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL), is the world’s leading digital mental health company, enabling providers, health plans and employers to deliver clinically validated digital health/therapeutic care that improves outcomes, increases access and scale while reducing costs. The company’s multi-award-winning digital mental health platform is a result of over 18 years of clinical research with leading academic institutions. Today, SilverCloud is being used by over 500 organizations globally to meet their populations’ mental health needs. Global experts have deeply validated the platform through full randomised control trials and real-world data from over half a million SilverCloud users. The platform continues to lead the industry with its effectiveness, engagement and range of clinical programs that encompasses the spectrum of mental health needs. Learn more at www.silvercloudhealth.com or https://business.amwell.com.
About SilverCloud Science:
SilverCloud Science is the research division of SilverCloud Health, part of Amwell® (NYSE: AMWL).
As the world’s leading digital, on-demand mental health company, SilverCloud Health is backed by nearly two decades of clinical research and covering nearly 100 million lives across half a dozen countries. The SilverCloud Science Team pioneered digital mental health in partnership with organisations such as the NHS and stands at the forefront of scientific excellence and evidence generation, delivering successful outcomes – up to 80% of users show improvement in depression and anxiety[3].
With 50+ peer-reviewed published research papers and citations in over 4,700 peer-reviewed publications (H index score of 22), alongside research partners across the world, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Trinity College Dublin, Microsoft Research, and Cambridge, digital health science and evidence generation is in SilverCloud’s DNA.
[1] https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/connecteddigitalsystems/exemplars/
[1] Richards, D., Enrique, A., Eilert, N. et al. A pragmatic randomized waitlist-controlled effectiveness and cost-effectiveness trial of digital interventions for depression and anxiety. npj Digit. Med. 3, 85 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-0293-8
[2] NHS Waiting List Tracker, median waiting time for mental health services, w/c 15.FEB.22, https://nhswaitlist.lcp.uk.com/ (last accessed 15.FEB.22)
[3] Data from SilverCloud Health platform dashboard.
