Why Are We Still Afraid of Digitising Mental Health Care?

Here at Resolute, we’re fascinated by technology’s huge potential to improve peoples’ health and wellness. In a world where digital communication is an essential part of our everyday lives, it seems incomprehensible that it doesn’t play a more prominent role in healthcare.

Mental Health Question Time at University College in London was a free public discussion that explored the gap between the potential for — and the real-life application of — effective digital mental health management.

Many fascinating topics were debated, including the constant threat of cyber-attacks on the NHS, the need to protect patients’ data, the enormous cost of integrating the necessary systems, training staff to new ways of working, and the difficulty in standardising digital offerings. It seems there’s also a belief among both patients and professionals that technological solutions are still only a second-best approach to healthcare at this stage.

While the panel was careful to address the potential dangers, the talk was far from doom and gloom, covering many exciting new technological advances, from self-help mobile apps to wearables and Skype appointments with healthcare professionals. The potential for these technologies is yet to be fully realised, but it’s clear that the positive impact they could bring to the NHS and those suffering from mental health disorders is huge.

The panel presented a superb, engaging and unbiased discussion, challenging many of our prior scepticisms regarding what many people believe to be sterile and cold alternatives to actual human contact. The fresh perspectives posed some valuable food for thought and left us asking: Why are we afraid of digitising mental health when it offers so many new frontiers to be explored?

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