E Mental Healthcare Assignment

Running head: e Mental Healthcare
E Mental Healthcare
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1E Mental Healthcare
Introduction:
Technology can be utilized in healthcare in order to prevent, detect, screen or to treat
diseases. eMental Health are mental health services and information that is shared or
improved using internet and related technologies like apps for phones, which can ensure the
providence of care regardless of the proximity of the patient to the care provider. In Canada,
80% of the population has accessibility to internet; however eMental Health is not used very
widely (Poushter, 2016). E Mental health provides many advantages such as shortening wait
time, reaching across time zones, improves access to healthcare in remote and rural areas,
ensuring cost effective healthcare delivery, and tailors service according to the language,
cultural as well as specific or habitual preferences of individuals (Donker et al., 2015; Abas et
al., 2016; Lal & Adair, 2014).
Discussion:
Hallgren et al. (2017) pointed out that digital technologies can improve clinical
decision making in the treatment of depression and also help in measurement based care,
integrated care and personalized medicines. The clinical decision making can be supported by
technology by 1. Developing tools that can incorporate data on depressive symptoms into
electronic health record systems. 2. Improving measurements of the fidelity of treatment. 3.
Informing the decision making using data from biosensors and smart phones. 4. Developing
tools that help in the communication and care coordination between the care provider and
patient. 5. Ensuring personalized treatment for depression through the integration of
electronic health records. These aspects show that technology can significantly improve the
efficacy of mental health treatments. These tools can also ensure an efficient, effective and
usable frontline treatment for patients, and can be utilized by the nurses to ensure better care
for patients (Aboujaoude & Starcevic, 2015; Torous & Roux, 2017; Hollis et al., 2015).

2E Mental Healthcare
Jorm et al. (2013) suggested that internet and related technologies have created a new
aspect which was utilized by mental healthcare, especially in Australia. The authors proposed
that the technological developments can transform mental healthcare and provide
opportunities for clinical practice as well as on research on mental health. Additionally, the
technologies can also provide opportunities for consumer empowerment and integrate
information to health systems. However, there are also certain emerging issues that have been
identified, and needs to be dealt with (Yuksel et al., 2016). These issues includes the need for
further evaluation of eHealth systems, need for new models of funding and ethical regulatory
frameworks. Technology also poses certain concerns in healthcare such as satisfying the need
for human care (which technology cannot provide fully) and ensuring social equality (as the
service can only cater to individuals with internet connectivity) (Piwek et al., 2016). This
highlights the fact that even though technology can be beneficial to mental healthcare, it still
has certain important concerns that should be addressed and focused on to ensure that
utilization of these technologies do not result in unequal distribution of care.
Technologies can significantly impact nursing practice and profession. Advances in
technology have ensured safety for both patients and their families, and new equipments have
improved the efficiency of care (Weaver et al., 2016). In nursing profession, technology has
also provided some key advantages such as: 1. Better communication between the nurse and
patients, through the usage of electronic health records that is updated with patient details.
The patient can also contact the nurses more easily, and the nurse can share information with
the patients faster through the use of technology. 2. It can help to improve the practice
presence of the nurse by ensuring that all the necessary data is available for treatment or
therapy. 3. Improving the positive approach towards treatment, instead of focusing on the
negative aspects (such as distraction due to technology) and developing strategies where

3E Mental Healthcare
errors in medical decision can be identified and rectified using technology (Kvedar et al.,
2014; Lee et al., 2015).
Thompson et al. (2018) studied whether digital technologies should be used to treat
psychotic disorders. The Authors assessed the use of technologies such as online treatments,
mobile apps, short messaging services, experience sampling methods, therapeutic games,
virtual therapies and augmented realities. The authors found that the assumption that
individual suffering from mental health conditions are less likely to use technology to be
untrue, and pointed out that individuals suffering from such conditions are more likely to
engage in technological interventions. This was exhibited by high rate of ownership of
mobile phones, usage of mobile health interventions, and social media habits, which are
similar to that of their peers (Kannisto et al., 2017). This shows that the technological
advances can be utilized by the nurses to help individuals suffering from mental health
conditions and thus improve their treatment.
Christensen and Petrie (2013) suggested that information technology is the key to
accelerate the advances in mental healthcare. Through the use of technology, healthcare
providers and nurses can easily disseminate information from researches and accelerate
discoveries in healthcare, thereby developing newer strategies of mental health care. It can
also create new roles in the healthcare workforce, such as the ‘online barefoot psychologists’
who can provide easily accessible diagnosis for mental health conditions and ‘knowledge
brokers’ who can explain the clinical information to the patients with low literacy. A nurse
can be engaged in these aspects, helping the patient in the assessment of their mental health
as well as educating the patients or their families on care strategies (Lustgarten & Elhai,
2018; Glick et al., 2016).
Conclusion:

4E Mental Healthcare
It can thus be concluded that technology can significantly improve the system of
healthcare for mental health conditions, integrating systems that improve the collection of
clinical data and support clinical decision making. Technology can also help to develop
communication between the patient and the healthcare team, and improve accessibility of
care for the patients, regardless of the location of the patient (distance or remoteness). Nurses
can use such technological advances to ensure better care which can be availed to anyone
with internet connectivity.

5E Mental Healthcare
References:
Abas, M., Bowers, T., Manda, E., Cooper, S., Machando, D., Verhey, R., ... & Chibanda, D.
(2016). ‘Opening up the mind’: problem-solving therapy delivered by female lay
health workers to improve access to evidence-based care for depression and other
common mental disorders through the Friendship Bench Project in
Zimbabwe. International journal of mental health systems, 10(1), 39. Retrieved from
https://ijmhs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13033-016-0071-9
Aboujaoude, E., & Starcevic, V. (Eds.). (2015). Mental health in the digital age: grave
dangers, great promise. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from
https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=WwHWBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Aboujaoude,+E.,+
%26+Starcevic,+V.+(Eds.).+(2015).+Mental+health+in+the+digital+age:
+grave+dangers,
+great+promise.&ots=Ne7NWsEyU7&sig=usk5D5WeQL8T0mECjvTV_MyKC9M#
v=onepage&q&f=false
Christensen, H., & Petrie, K. (2013). Information technology as the key to accelerating
advances in mental health care. Australian & New Zealand Journal of
Psychiatry, 47(2), 114-116. Retrieved from
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Donker, T., Blankers, M., Hedman, E., Ljotsson, B., Petrie, K., & Christensen, H. (2015).
Economic evaluations of Internet interventions for mental health: a systematic
review. Psychological medicine, 45(16), 3357-3376. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Donkerea_2015_iCEA_PsychMed.pdf

6E Mental Healthcare
Glick, G., Druss, B., Pina, J., Lally, C., & Conde, M. (2016). Use of mobile technology in a
community mental health setting. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, 22(7), 430-
435. Retrieved from
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Hallgren, K. A., Bauer, A. M., & Atkins, D. C. (2017). Digital technology and clinical
decision making in depression treatment: Current findings and future
opportunities. Depression and anxiety. Retrieved from
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Hollis, C., Morriss, R., Martin, J., Amani, S., Cotton, R., Denis, M., & Lewis, S. (2015).
Technological innovations in mental healthcare: harnessing the digital revolution.
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%20Innovations%20in%20Mental%20Healthcare%20-Harnessing%20the%20Digital
%20Revolution.pdf
Jorm, A. F., Morgan, A. J., & Malhi, G. S. (2013). The future of e-mental health. Retrieved
from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0004867412474076
Kannisto, K. A., Korhonen, J., Adams, C. E., Koivunen, M. H., Vahlberg, T., & Välimäki, M.
A. (2017). Factors associated with dropout during recruitment and follow-up periods
of a mHealth-based randomized controlled trial for Mobile. Net to encourage
treatment adherence for people with serious mental health problems. Journal of
medical Internet research, 19(2). Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5340923/
Kvedar, J., Coye, M. J., & Everett, W. (2014). Connected health: a review of technologies
and strategies to improve patient care with telemedicine and telehealth. Health

7E Mental Healthcare
Affairs, 33(2), 194-199. Retrieved from
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/abs/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0992
Lal, S., & Adair, C. E. (2014). E-mental health: a rapid review of the literature. Psychiatric
Services, 65(1), 24-32. Retrieved from
https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ps.201300009
Lee, T., Adnan, M., Bajwa, W., Ball, M. J., Ballen, S., Baur, C., ... & Deering, M. J.
(2015). Information technology for patient empowerment in healthcare. Walter de
Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/books?
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+Bajwa,+W.,+Ball,+M.+J.,+Ballen,+S.,+Baur,+C.,+...+%26+Deering,+M.+J.
+(2015).+Information+technology+for+patient+empowerment+in+healthcare.
+Walter+de+Gruyter+GmbH+
%26+Co+KG&ots=m9CaVlvVvo&sig=6vKDitEy3MWcX38Ql0USjqDsq9g#v=onep
age&q&f=false
Lustgarten, S. D., & Elhai, J. D. (2018). Technology use in mental health practice and
research: Legal and ethical risks. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, e12234.
Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cpsp.12234
Piwek, L., Ellis, D. A., Andrews, S., & Joinson, A. (2016). The rise of consumer health
wearables: promises and barriers. PLoS Medicine, 13(2), e1001953. Retrieved from
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Poushter, J. (2016). Smartphone ownership and internet usage continues to climb in emerging
economies. Pew Research Center, 22. Retrieved from
http://s1.pulso.cl/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2258581.pdf

8E Mental Healthcare
Thompson, A., Gleeson, J., & Alvarez-Jimenez, M. (2018). Should we be using digital
technologies in the treatment of psychotic disorders?. Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Psychiatry, 52(3), 225-226. Retrieved from
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0004867418757920
Torous, J., & Roux, S. (2017). Patient-Driven Innovation for Mobile Mental Health
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management systems. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Retrieved from
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Yuksel, M., Milne, G. R., & Miller, E. G. (2016). Social media as complementary
consumption: the relationship between consumer empowerment and social
interactions in experiential and informative contexts. Journal of Consumer
Marketing, 33(2), 111-123. Retrieved from
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9E Mental Healthcare