If I ask you a question do you Google your symptoms I am pretty sure 99% of you would be guilty of it. If we as a practitioner does this then think about common people having no idea about pros and cons of medical health devices or even medicines. Millions of people use mental health apps for anxiety, sleep, and depression in worst case scenario for diagnostic help. Most of these online tools promise improvement and tends to give the person unrealistic goals sometimes, yet very few are tested like medicines or therapies. Unlike drugs, digital mental health tools often enter the market without strong clinical evidence or any prior testing. This is alarming because users may delay seeking professional help on time. Regulators and researchers are now questioning whether digital mental health tools should be evaluated like medical treatments and prior testing should be there at first before any approval. Innovation should never come at the cost of vulnerable users. Technology can support mental health, but it cannot replace evidence and definitely can’t cure.
Can you rely on some evidence backed apps or you prefer seeking medical help professionally?
Yes, this could underestimate or overestimate diseases. This could lead to serious health issues, which may be easily cured at an earlier stage but may be ignored due to their underestimation using such apps.
Mental health apps can support care, but they shouldn’t replace professional help.
I’d trust evidence backed tools only as supplements, not as treatment.
Again, I find this question fundamentally incorrect. It’s unfair to draw parallels between physical ailments of googling symptoms and healthcare altmetrics/apps and self-assessment/wellness apps.
Healthcare for mental health is, in actuality, primarily preventive for the majority of the population, unlike physical ailments of wounds, infections or trauma. This to be honest, works best in parallel to other NCDs like T2DM, metabolic syndrome etc, whose main aim is preventive, working long term to maintain the management of the condition and not just reporting to physicians when things go sideways or have new symptoms.
The fact that Google and other AI-enhanced platforms now have improved outcomes for understanding one’s health and giving individuals autonomy over their health with simplified knowledge, I think it’s not as stereotypically bad anymore. These apps also allow daily trend monitoring, daily wellness checks and maintanence at negligible costs which help the individuals in these boats sail safer. Seeking help is not limited to emergencies, for which professionals help the best, but mental health is something that works on maintanence, which apps and AI GPTs do wonderfully. Hope this helps!
The article raises a very pertinent point . With so many healthcare/productivity and mental-well being apps in the market guiding people who are vulnerable to misinformation/ improper guidance it becomes mandatory to ensure proper supervision and regulatory compliance, standards that are in place for qualified practitioners.
I understand your point but it is you who understand the pros and cons of healthcare very and can take decision of your own but people who doesn’t have enough knowledge about healthcare often takes influenced decision by some apps. Apps are great helpful hands but healthcare is more than just IT algorithms.