NHS launches mental health apps library
pharmafile | March 25, 2015 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | England, NHS, apps, choices, digital, kitemark, online
NHS England has launched a directory of digital services it endorses for the treatment of mental health, in the first of its efforts to officially accredit apps and websites.
The Mental Health Apps Library is accessible through the NHS Choices website and highlights online tools, resources and apps that have a proven track record in improving outcomes.
“Care can be enhanced by technology and its ability to connect us with the right treatment in a more personalised and accessible way,” says Geraldine Strathdee, NHS England’s clinical director for mental health. “Increasing access to digital services which support those suffering with mental health difficulties will help people get the right care at the right time.”
There is a growing evidence base showing the success of online tools in treating depression and anxiety. Of the 40 million visits to NHS Choices every month, 9.7 million are to pages on depression, and 9.4 million are to pages on anxiety.
The NHS notes that online therapy can offer patients more flexibility in their appointments as well as discretion for those worried about stigma and privacy.
It highlights Big White Wall, a service in the Library that offers quick access to live therapy, as one such example of this. Almost three-quarters of respondents to an internal review said they had talked about something for the first time using the service, 80% were able to self-manage their condition as a result, and 95% said it helped them feel better.
Jen Hyatt, founder of Big White Wall, says: “We have seen how digital services are essential to reach the 75% of people with poor mental health who remain untreated. Many prefer 24/7 access to clinically safe support at home without fear of stigma.
“We are delighted to be one of the first NHS endorsed digital services on NHS Choices and applaud this bold move to bring the benefits of evidence-based digital technologies direct to the public.”
In December last year a study found that the NHS was struggling to keep up with increasingly digital-savvy patients – but the health service has been making plans to address this.
The Mental Health Apps Library is the first experiment in its wider work to formally endorse and accredit digital services for use in clinical practice. It also plans to introduce a ‘kitemark’ to validate more general health-related apps.
Meanwhile, the upcoming Innovative Medicines and Medical Technologies Review will look at ways to improve the speed at which digital devices and apps get to patients.
George Underwood
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