In largest dataset of its kind, digital mental health study published in JAMA Network Open serves as foundation for delivering personalized patient treatment based on AI and machine learning
BOSTON (July 17, 2020) – SilverCloud Health, the world’s leading digital mental health platform, announced today that JAMA Network Open has published clinical findings from an ongoing study with Microsoft that aims to advance personalized internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) interventions for the treatment of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The JAMA paper discusses a 14-week study of 54,604 patients’ anonymized data as part of a 2-year research project between SilverCloud Health and Microsoft Research Cambridge. The research explores how artificial intelligence can be used to enhance SilverCloud Health’s digital mental health services to a large and growing number of people in need of effective and accessible care.
The key findings from the study, “A Machine Learning Approach to Understanding Patterns of Engagement with Internet-delivered Mental Health Interventions,” include the identification of five heterogeneous subtypes based on patient engagement with online intervention; these subtypes are associated with different patterns of patient behaviours and different levels of improvement in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Patterns of behaviour may elucidate different modalities of engagement, which can help SilverCloud better triage patients for personalized therapeutic activities to improve outcomes and have a positive impact on those with mental health conditions. Understanding each heterogeneous subtype and pattern behaviour will enable SilverCloud to predict future interactions with iCBT and create earlier intervention strategies.
“By using artificial intelligence and machine learning, we’re making important strides toward more deeply understanding different types of engagement behaviours related to our best-in-class digital mental health platform,” said Ken Cahill, CEO of SilverCloud Health. “We hope that using Microsoft’s findings may pave the way for us to deliver even more personalized interventions that maximize engagement and improve patients’ clinical outcomes. Delivering the right content to the right person at the right time results in better clinical outcomes and even higher engagements.”
The fluctuating and sensitive nature of mental health symptomology has engendered a need for increased access to treatments that meet each person’s needs and desired outcomes. SilverCloud and Microsoft’s collaboration, called Project Talia, uses probabilistic machine learning frameworks to identify new routes for personalizing treatment while improving patient engagement and clinical outcomes.
“Our work with SilverCloud focuses on how machine learning can meaningfully assist in the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health problems,” said Danielle Belgrave, principal researcher, Microsoft Research, Cambridge, UK. “Through our collaboration, we’re learning how internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy can be more effective when personalized treatment recommendations are provided to patients"
The study’s findings arrive amidst globally rising symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression catalysed by the SARS CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, where expanded access to digital mental health therapeutics is paramount. With traditional face-to-face therapeutic services disrupted, online interventions continue to offer proven equivalent clinical outcomes. In 2019, SilverCloud Health released a whitepaper about how patients who implemented digital mental health tools achieved up to 65% reduction in symptom scores.
The full publication can be found here. Read Microsoft's blog for more information.
About SilverCloud Health
SilverCloud Health 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 17 years of clinical research with leading academic institutions. Today, SilverCloud is being used by over 300 organizations globally to meet their populations’ mental health needs. Global experts have deeply validated the platform through full randomized control trials and real-world data from over 500,000 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.
Contact:
Ryan McKenna
silvercloud@matternow.com
617-874-5487