Technology & Psychiatry

As technology continues to expand exponentially, so does our potential to harness these technological capabilities to expand the field of psychiatry. At Psychiatric Times this year, we highlighted a range of topics on these advancements.

Can mobile technologies advance care for schizophrenia? The research literature strongly supports feasibility, although clinical data on validity, safety, and efficacy are still lacking.

The Medici effect is upon us in biomedicine, and it’s called convergence science.

How will mobile mental health technologies change the nature of the psychiatrist-patient relationship? And do these technologies truly deliver what they promise?

Internet-based CBT has shown promise to improve access to therapy for patients with OCD, which is associated with a profoundly diminished quality of life and social isolation.

Telehealth is at a tipping point and is gaining momentum. Although there are some technological and logistical hurdles, most clinicians would likely find these to be minor and outweighed by the benefits of expanding access to mental health care to those in need.

A psychiatrist reviews some digital apps you might suggest as an adjunct to established interventions (eg, medications, therapy) for adult ADHD.

Many questions remain about privacy, ethics, and clinical utility, but the fact remains, mobile is the fastest growing technology in human history.

Mobile health interventions are helpful to patients receiving medications that reduce cravings, but what about adherence-focused monitoring?

Using the cloud in a savvy way can make your work easier and keep your patients happy-as long as you deploy it in a secure way. Here are 10 tips for embracing the cloud in your psychiatric practice.

What if we were able to harness the immense power of our digital connections to create tools that can potentially make our lives happier and healthier?

Here: a look at Mobilyze and CrossCheck--2 apps currently in development that are embedded within smartphones and designed to capture objective data on patients to provide timely treatment and relapse prevention.

Because of the widespread use of selfies by young people in social media and digital communication, it is important to examine the psychology behind the selfie as well as ways mental health professionals can talk to adolescents and their parents about these issues.

People feel free to post comments on social media sites that they would never dare say to someone’s face. The cure, if only a partial one, is to get out of social media and to start living a real life. What is your opinion on this issue?

It is essential that we psychiatrists align ourselves with the public and our patients both to disseminate accurate information and to educate. Social media allows us to have this public voice more than ever before.

Agree or disagree: Physicians who have a need to make a public statement should not do so using social media. Take the poll and see how your colleagues voted.

In addition to the approval of novel medications for alcohol use disorders, the past several years have been marked by an emphasis on development, standardization, and dissemination of new behavioral therapies, including computer-based interventions.

To run an effective telepsychiatry practice, a solid partnership between skilled personal on-site with patients and the psychiatrist on the other end of the call is a must.

How to manage EHRs is at the top of the list of physician concerns, according to past AMA President Jeremy Lazarus, MD. The first psychiatrist to lead the AMA in over 70 years, Dr Lazarus addressed the Assembly at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New York in May.

As the use of social media becomes necessary for the online presence of medical professionals, this topic will continue to be essential for the training of both current and future psychiatrists.

Running into an old friend at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting: Use hashtag #APAAM14.

Telehealth is here, and it’s here to stay. A telepsychiatrist gives a brief description of the setup from his home office.

In order to make positive changes in the field of psychiatry, it is important to appreciate and understand the current challenges and significant limitations of the present approach to psychiatric therapy.

The transition to telepsychiatry is great, but the benefits, many. In this humorous piece, it becomes clear to this clinician that telepsychiatry can be a viable, valuable, and timely addition to the psychiatric profession, despite minor mishaps in the first week.

Various populations of patients can benefit from telepsychiatry. The goal is not to replace local mental health resources but to enhance existing capabilities. This article articulates successful interventions as well as topics to consider when developing a telepsychiatry service.

Despite its many challenges, rural psychiatry can be particularly rewarding because it allows an opportunity to provide much-needed care and the ability to be at the forefront of helping to close gaps in health care disparities.The privilege of being a true community resource and the ability to improve overall community mental health give meaningful purpose to the work of a rural psychiatrist.

What Skype does not offer is a means of communication clearly suitable for clinical services-especially in mental health and psychiatry.

Digital technology provides many benefits to clinical practice but only if you know how to avoid the associated pitfalls. This slideshow provides easily accessible information for best practices for using e-mail, text messaging, search engines, blogs, etc.

While this article highlights some of the modern-era risks to confidentiality that psychiatrists may experience, it does not constitute an exhaustive list of issues to consider and is not a substitute for legal advice.

Social media is not a fad. It allows physicians to “get out of the office” in real time, to learn about patients’ concerns, and to connect with others.