Ahhh the pandemic. #weirdesttimeever. But interesting and helpful mental health advancements came out of that time: increased desire for people to talk about mental heal th and decreased stigma. Not to mention the tele-health revolution that so many clinicians and consumers find helpful. And a tech industry designed to increase access to mental health services boomed. But should mental health apps be regulated??
This mental health tech boom also has downsides. For one, misinformation about mental health has spread rapidly. Everyone suddenly has narcissism and is traumatized? Is this industry too “wild west”?
Governing bodies granted waivers during the pandemic health emergency (PHE). PHE waivers and other efforts (e.g., Medicare/Medicaid telehealth allowances) decrease the amount of regulation and scrutiny a technology received from governing bodies. This allowed for increased innovation of mental health apps and increased access to care.
These benefits have also raised multiple issues. First, issues of quality of care have arisen for many apps and “wellness” products. Many apps’ products have skirted evidence-based approaches and best practices. A major example is provision of controlled medications (e.g., Adderral) without formalized medical evaluation. Another example is the variable quality of strategies in self help apps.
Another key issue concerns privacy and protected health information. Many tech app business models in general include selling user data for profit. But should a telehealth app be able to sell data that indicates an individual has accessed therapy services through their platform? And at worst gives sensitive user-specific data? A few companies have already allegedly made severe HIPAA violations by sharing data.
These and other issues may have opened the door for companies to focus on profit at the expense of effective care. This phenomenon has long been a criticism of the health insurance industry in the U.S. Either way, this proliferation of services at the expense of quality and fidelity affects us all. Unless there is a way to have our cake and eat it too?
