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Category: Emerging Technologies
09/21/2023

Technology Fueled America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis, But It Can Help End It

Article Excerpt: Sian Leah Beilock is a cognitive scientist who is the new president of Dartmouth College, the first woman to hold that position since the school was founded in 1769. An expert in, among other things, the effect of stress on academic performance, she is starting her tenure by putting health and wellness at the center of her leadership agenda with a focus on the country’s youth mental health crisis…Substance abuse, which is both helping drive the mental health crisis and is drastically undertreated with nearly 90 percent of sufferers going without treatment, offers an example of the power of technology to provide clinical care in underserved areas or in cases in which stigmatization prevents people from seeking the help they need. Lisa Marsch and her team at the Dartmouth Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CBTH) created and validated the first Food and Drug Administration-cleared digital therapeutic for the treatment of opioid addiction, which provides cognitive behavioral therapy interventions though the user’s digital device and has since helped roughly double rates of abstinence by lowering the threshold for access to treatment.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4v4jkrwd

Article Source: The Washington Post

08/31/2023

Breathe! The Shape-Shifting Ball That Supports Mental Health

Article Excerpt: A soft ball that ‘personifies’ breath, expanding and contracting in synchronicity with a person’s inhalations and exhalations, has been invented by a PhD student at the University of Bath. The ball is designed to support mental health, giving users a tangible representation of their breath to keep them focused and to help them regulate their emotions.
Alexz Farrall, the student in the Department of Computer Science who invented the device, said: “By giving breath physical form, the ball enhances self-awareness and engagement, fostering positive mental health outcomes.”

Full Article: Fhttps://tinyurl.com/4jst87va

Article Source: ScienceBlog

08/22/2023

Researchers Developing Mixed Reality Naloxone Training to Combat Opioid Overdose Deaths

Article Excerpt: OSF Healthcare (OSF), a not-for-profit healthcare organization, has announced this week a new partnership with Illinois State University (ISU) and Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIU) to utilize mixed-reality technology to create an immersive training program designed to help combat opioid overdose deaths. The partnership is based on the development of an Illinois Innovation Network-funded education project called Virtual Reality Embedded Naloxone Training (VENT). The work centers around the development of mixed-use or augmented reality (AR) education for an immersive, engaging approach to train people on how to administer naloxone — which serves as a safe and effective antidote for suspected opioid overdoses. OSF noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made naloxone nasal spray available over the counter in March as part of a strategy that includes harm reduction through innovation and education.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/39b2rhn4

Article Source: Auganix

08/09/2023

Black Women are Open to Mental Health Services Via Mobile Technology

Article Excerpt: Using survey data on patient attitudes toward mental health services and depression screening, a new study indicated that Black American Women are comfortable with using voice or video calls to communicate with mental health providers. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that about one in ten women in the United States have experienced depression symptoms within the last year. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), also indicated that Black American women are commonly affected by depression. While discrimination, financial issues, and chronic conditions may contribute to this, various factors prevent Black women from obtaining care. These may include stigmatization, limited access, or insurance complications.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/ywhh2svm

Article Source: mHealth Intelligence

07/27/2023

One-Third of ACOs Use Digital Health Tools to Treat Patients With OUD

Article Excerpt: A new study of accountable care organizations (ACOs) suggests the use of digital health tools is relatively uncommon when treating patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). When digital tools are used, they are generally seen as a complement to other treatment modalities, according to the report, which was published this month in JAMA Network Open. Digital health resources have been billed as a way to overcome some of the traditional barriers to OUD treatment, such as lack of transportation and the limited availability of trained mental health clinicians. However, the study authors said public health officials need to be mindful of equity concerns as they roll out digital health solutions, “including understanding the clinical settings in which they are offered.”

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/yc2tn65n

Article Source: AJMC

07/25/2023

Digital Therapeutics Provide Benefits but Require Further Research

Article Excerpt: A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Advisory report indicated that while digital therapeutics (DTx) can address care barriers, such as limited care access and high costs, development efforts are on the rise, prompting further considerations… Research indicates that DTx are projected to grow in the coming years. A part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) funds a Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) that guides the creation and application of digital health resources for various conditions, often providing grants.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/2uk59muy

Article Source: mHealth Intelligence

07/21/2023

FDA Clears Prescription Digital Behavioral Therapeutic for Type 2 Diabetes

Article Excerpt: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared AspyreRx™, a prescription digital behavioral therapeutic device for adults with type 2 diabetes.The device is intended to provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), as an adjunct to standard of care, to patients aged 18 years and older with type 2 diabetes under the care of a health care provider. Prescribed in 90-day increments, the digital therapeutic delivers CBT through a mobile application in a weekly, step-by-step process to help patients improve glycemic control.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/hx63366n

Article Source: Psychiatry Advisor

07/18/2023

The Role of Digital Health In Treating OUD

Article Excerpt: In a study recently published in the JAMA Network, researchers sought to investigate the use of patient-facing digital health technologies for OUD by organizations in the United States with ACO contracts. The search began as it was unclear whether these technologies serve as substitute or complements to traditional SUD treatment resources in health care organizations. According to researchers and authors of the study, medication and behavioral treatment for OUD is scarce. Many barriers make access to OUD treatment challenging, including transportation and limited numbers of mental health and SUD clinicians. Digital health technologies are suggested to have the potential to alleviate barriers and expand access to treatment for OUD patients.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/yjfu8ud2

Article Source: Managed Healthcare Executive

07/17/2023

This AI Chatbot Has Helped Doctors Treat 3 Million People–And May Be Coming To A Hospital Near You

Article Excerpt: The problem with turning to the internet for medical advice is that you can come away thinking that you either have a headache or a brain tumor – but the reality is you probably just have a headache. With K Health, Allon Bloch is creating an antidote to “Dr. Google” that ingests your symptoms and medical history via an AI-powered chatbot, sifts through the data of millions of patients and suggests a medical condition based on how you compare to other people like you. “We’re trying to mimic the best doctor in the world,” says Bloch, 53, cofounder and CEO of the seven-year-old New York-based startup.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4awtf4ua

Article Source: Forbes