Bauer M, Glenn T, Monteith S, Bauer R, Whybrow PC, Geddes J. (2017). Ethical perspectives on recommending digital technology for patients with mental illness. International Journal of Bipolar Disorders. 5(6). doi: 10.1186/s40345-017-0073-9
The authors discuss ethical concerns posed by the growing use of digital health technologies (DHTs) by health care providers and patients. The authors discuss six specific concerns related to the use of DHTs in today’s digital economy, including health care providers recommending DHTs to patients, physicians not acknowledging DHTs, health care providers’ understanding of DHTs, education for health care providers about the digital economy, the message sent by physicians recommending DHTs to patients, and how to validate DHTs as methods of treatment. Topics underlying concerns include: 1) patients and health care providers may not understand how information collected by DHTs can be captured and used against patients’ interest, 2) many apps have inadequate privacy and security measures in place, 3) many DHTs are not rigorously evaluated, and 4) there is little to no regulation of DHTs available to the public. The authors conclude that though there are still many opportunities for DHTs in health care, providers face many risks related to their patients’ use of non-validated DHTs. Education and research can help to mitigate risk for use of DHT in health care.