The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study
BackgroundMental health treatment is hindered by the limited number of mental health care providers and the infrequency of care. Digital mental health technology can help supplement treatment by remotely monitoring patient symptoms and predicting mental health crises in betwe...
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JMIR Publications
2025-01-01
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| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e57624 |
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| author | C Neill Epperson Rachel Davis Allison Dempsey Heinrich C Haller David J Kupfer Tiffany Love Pamela M Villarreal Mark Matthews Susan L Moore Kimberly Muller Christopher D Schneck Jessica L Scott Richard D Zane Ellen Frank |
| author_facet | C Neill Epperson Rachel Davis Allison Dempsey Heinrich C Haller David J Kupfer Tiffany Love Pamela M Villarreal Mark Matthews Susan L Moore Kimberly Muller Christopher D Schneck Jessica L Scott Richard D Zane Ellen Frank |
| author_sort | C Neill Epperson |
| collection | DOAJ |
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BackgroundMental health treatment is hindered by the limited number of mental health care providers and the infrequency of care. Digital mental health technology can help supplement treatment by remotely monitoring patient symptoms and predicting mental health crises in between clinical visits. However, the feasibility of digital mental health technologies has not yet been sufficiently explored. Rhythms, from the company Health Rhythms, is a smartphone platform that uses passively acquired smartphone data with artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to alert patients and providers to an emerging mental health crisis.
ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of Rhythms among patients attending an academic psychiatric outpatient clinic.
MethodsOur group embedded Rhythms into the electronic health record of a large health system. Patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or other mood disorder were contacted online and enrolled for a 6-week trial of Rhythms. Participants provided data by completing electronic surveys as well as by active and passive use of Rhythms. Emergent and urgent alerts were monitored and managed according to passively collected data and patient self-ratings. A purposively sampled group of participants also participated in qualitative interviews about their experience with Rhythms at the end of the study.
ResultsOf the 104 participants, 89 (85.6%) completed 6 weeks of monitoring. The majority of the participants were women (72/104, 69.2%), White (84/104, 80.8%), and non-Hispanic (100/104, 96.2%) and had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (71/104, 68.3%). Two emergent alerts and 19 urgent alerts were received and managed according to protocol over 16 weeks. More than two-thirds (63/87, 72%) of those participating continued to use Rhythms after study completion. Comments from participants indicated appreciation for greater self-awareness and provider connection, while providers reported that Rhythms provided a more nuanced understanding of patient experience between clinical visits.
ConclusionsRhythms is a user-friendly, electronic health record–adaptable, smartphone-based tool that provides patients and providers with a greater understanding of patient mental health status. Integration of Rhythms into health systems has the potential to facilitate mental health care and improve the experience of both patients and providers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-779c8d20b0e64d0ca1e87ae734ca1442 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-779c8d20b0e64d0ca1e87ae734ca14422025-01-07T18:30:26ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2025-01-019e5762410.2196/57624The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability StudyC Neill Eppersonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1010-1409Rachel Davishttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7823-012XAllison Dempseyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2331-9455Heinrich C Hallerhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0810-5734David J Kupferhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0046-8466Tiffany Lovehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9299-3190Pamela M Villarrealhttps://orcid.org/0009-0006-7967-2476Mark Matthewshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8862-5141Susan L Moorehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8671-6066Kimberly Mullerhttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-6078-6031Christopher D Schneckhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7422-4707Jessica L Scotthttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-6113-1366Richard D Zanehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7658-7707Ellen Frankhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3298-7893 BackgroundMental health treatment is hindered by the limited number of mental health care providers and the infrequency of care. Digital mental health technology can help supplement treatment by remotely monitoring patient symptoms and predicting mental health crises in between clinical visits. However, the feasibility of digital mental health technologies has not yet been sufficiently explored. Rhythms, from the company Health Rhythms, is a smartphone platform that uses passively acquired smartphone data with artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to alert patients and providers to an emerging mental health crisis. ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of Rhythms among patients attending an academic psychiatric outpatient clinic. MethodsOur group embedded Rhythms into the electronic health record of a large health system. Patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or other mood disorder were contacted online and enrolled for a 6-week trial of Rhythms. Participants provided data by completing electronic surveys as well as by active and passive use of Rhythms. Emergent and urgent alerts were monitored and managed according to passively collected data and patient self-ratings. A purposively sampled group of participants also participated in qualitative interviews about their experience with Rhythms at the end of the study. ResultsOf the 104 participants, 89 (85.6%) completed 6 weeks of monitoring. The majority of the participants were women (72/104, 69.2%), White (84/104, 80.8%), and non-Hispanic (100/104, 96.2%) and had a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (71/104, 68.3%). Two emergent alerts and 19 urgent alerts were received and managed according to protocol over 16 weeks. More than two-thirds (63/87, 72%) of those participating continued to use Rhythms after study completion. Comments from participants indicated appreciation for greater self-awareness and provider connection, while providers reported that Rhythms provided a more nuanced understanding of patient experience between clinical visits. ConclusionsRhythms is a user-friendly, electronic health record–adaptable, smartphone-based tool that provides patients and providers with a greater understanding of patient mental health status. Integration of Rhythms into health systems has the potential to facilitate mental health care and improve the experience of both patients and providers.https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e57624 |
| spellingShingle | C Neill Epperson Rachel Davis Allison Dempsey Heinrich C Haller David J Kupfer Tiffany Love Pamela M Villarreal Mark Matthews Susan L Moore Kimberly Muller Christopher D Schneck Jessica L Scott Richard D Zane Ellen Frank The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study JMIR Formative Research |
| title | The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study |
| title_full | The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study |
| title_fullStr | The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study |
| title_short | The Trifecta of Industry, Academic, and Health System Partnership to Improve Mental Health Care Through Smartphone-Based Remote Patient Monitoring: Development and Usability Study |
| title_sort | trifecta of industry academic and health system partnership to improve mental health care through smartphone based remote patient monitoring development and usability study |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e57624 |
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