The proliferation of patients suffering from mental illness this year has concluded that the year has not been easy for many. This could be due to many reasons but the elephant in the room is COVID-19, which has caused a lot of harm to the public in many ways, including thousands of people getting laid off from their jobs, everything going remote causing feelings of loneliness and seclusion, anxiety about health concerns due to the rapid spread of the virus, and more. The public is learning to adjust to the ongoing situation, but a large chunk of those people are struggling.
On a brighter note, these uncertain times are stirring a rapid growth in mental health software trends that were believed to be seen in 5-10 years. Additionally, doctors and physicians are taking close note of what patients really need during the era of social distancing. Let’s have a look at the top three mental health trends this year which will aim to reduce the rate of mental illness patients in the near future.
(1) Rapid Use of Well-Being apps such as Calm and Headspace: The meditation app industry is rising to new heights every day, with the Headspace app reporting a 20% increase in downloads since March. More Americans are finding such apps beneficial as access to healthcare is still difficult.
A number of doctors and physicians have decided to create their own custom mental health app for their patients to track their well-being and easily communicate with their healthcare organization or clinic. These apps are not necessary only for mediation, but also the following:
- Connecting patients to board-certified mental health professionals
- An online portal where patients can simultaneously get in touch with various coaches, therapists, and psychiatrists to receive the highest level of care
- Providing therapy services to patients in rural areas
- Custom lifestyle tracking apps to help doctors easily gain info on patient habits
(2) Machine Learning Tracking The Language of Social Media Users To Determine Mental Health Levels: Perhaps one of the neatest and most innovative mental health software trends to combat the rise of mental health patients, machine learning is coming to the rescue. One of the best ways to reduce mental illness levels is to track negative mental behavior before it emerges at a deeper level. But how can this be made possible?
Machine learning can track the verbiage that the public is using online. You might be thinking, ‘Yeah, that’s good but many do not express their sadness and dissatisfaction on social media. They only show their good side.’ You are right. However, with millions of Americans being able to express themselves anonymously online through forums such as Reddit, there is enough data for machine learning to work with, which is also more accurate data. For more information, have a look at this informative article on a machine learning study done on 800,000 Reddit users to track mental health near the beginning of the pandemic.
(3) Stricter privacy requirements of mental health patients: You cannot address the topic of remote services without bringing up patient privacy. With mental health services being conducted online, there has to be a greater level of cybersecurity measures in place. HIPAA compliance practices are being heavily implemented this year, and are at an all time high. You have to make sure that your healthcare organization is meeting the New HIPAA Regulations of 2020.
Sunvera understands the progression of the mental health industry along with the pandemic, and can help doctors, physicians, and therapists implement the right solution which can significantly improve the level of communication between your healthcare organization and the patients, as well as increase patient satisfaction. We have helped numerous clients in the field of mental care, including telehealth, and we offer a free consultation to discuss your organization’s needs.
