Remote monitoring tools are giving clinicians more time and data to track behavioral health patients’ progress between visits, according to an article on the American Hospital Association’s website.
Here are four things to know:
- Wearables that monitor sleep, heart rate variability and physical activity allow continuous tracking of physiological data. The metrics can be indicators of emotional distress, relapse risk or changes in psychiatric symptoms and can detect signs of mood shifts in patients with bipolar disorder.
- Mobile apps can allow patients and clinicians to monitor mood ratings, sleep quality, medication adherence or reflections of thoughts and feelings. For example, a patient experiencing anxiety and depression symptoms can track their mood throughout the day or week so clinicians see any behavioral changes, the article said.
- Passive sensing to detect behavior change uses smartphone sensors, voice or text behavior to detect behavioral and cognitive shifts. The tools detect behavior — related to screen time, social withdrawal and movement, for example — that may signal worsening symptoms in youths. These tools can also predict relapse risk in substance use disorder based on behavioral deviations.
- Geofencing and digital contingency management can be used to prevent relapses by identifying when a patient enters a high-risk zone. The zones could include places such as liquor stores or areas with past drug use. Digital contingency management uses incentives to promote therapy and appointment attendance, medication adherence, physical activity and program completion, according to the article.
