The Use of Telemedicine and Mobile Technology to Promote Population Health and Population Management for Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Purpose of review: This article discusses recent applications in telemedicine to promote the goals of population health and population management for people suffering psychiatric disorders.

Recent findings: The use of telemedicine to promote collaborative care, self-monitoring and chronic disease management, and population screening has demonstrated broad applicability and effectiveness. Collaborative care using videoconferencing to facilitate mental health specialty consults has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of depression, PTSD, and also ADHD in pediatric populations. Mobile health is currently being harnessed to monitor patient symptom trajectories with the goal of using machine learning algorithms to predict illness relapse. Patient portals serve as a bridge between patients and providers. They provide an electronically secure shared space for providers and patients to collaborate and optimize care. To date, research has supported the effectiveness of telemedicine in promoting population health. Future endeavors should focus on developing the most effective clinical protocols for using these technologies to ensure long-term use and maximum effectiveness in reducing population burden of mental health.

Keywords: Behavioral health; Collaborative care; Mobile applications; Patient portals; Telemedicine; Videoconferencing.