Integrated Digital Mental Health Care: A Vision for Addressing Population Mental Health Needs

Abstract

Christopher T Lim,1,2 Cara Fuchs,1 John Torous3 1Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; 2Population Health Services, Boston Medical Center Health System, Boston, MA, USA; 3Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USACorrespondence: Christopher T Lim, Department of Psychiatry, Boston Medical Center, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, 85 East Concord Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA, 02118, USA, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]: The unmet need for mental health care continues to rise across the world. This article synthesizes the evidence supporting the components of a hypothetical model of integrated digital mental health care to meet population-wide mental health needs. This proposed model integrates two approaches to broadening timely access to effective care: integrated, primary care-based mental health services and digital mental health tools. The model solves for several of the key challenges historically faced by digital health, through promoting digital literacy and access, the curation of evidence-based digital tools, integration into clinical practice, and electronic medical record integration. This model builds upon momentum toward the integration of mental health services within primary care and aligns with the principles of the Collaborative Care Model. Finally, the authors present the major next steps toward implementation of integrated digital mental health care at scale.Keywords: digital health, psychiatry, integrated care, primary care

Keywords

• digital health
• psychiatry
• integrated care
• primary care