Patients Are Confessing Suicidal Thoughts To Apps Meant To Manage Health Problems Like Diabetes, Leaving Startups To Grapple With What To Do
“To be honest, when we started this, I didn’t think it was as big an issue as it obviously is,” said Daniel Nathrath, CEO of Ada Health. The phenomenon, though, is, in some respects, no surprise: There’s a large body of research showing that people are more willing to confess potentially taboo thoughts to a computer than to a fellow human a few feet away.
Stat:
Patients Are Using Digital Health Apps To Confess Suicidal Thoughts
Digital health apps, which let patients chat with doctors or health coaches or even receive likely medical diagnoses from a bot, are transforming modern health care. They are also — in practice — being used as suicide crisis hotlines. Patients are confessing suicidal thoughts using apps designed to help them manage their diabetes or figure out why they might have a headache, according to industry executives. As a result, many digital health startups are scrambling to figure out how best to respond and when to call the police — questions that even suicide prevention experts don’t have good answers to. (Robbins, 3/25)
In other health and technology news —
Modern Healthcare:
Lawmakers' EHR Scrutiny Ramps Up
Lawmakers and government officials are seeking to ramp up scrutiny over electronic health records. A week after whistleblower allegations against Community Health Systems' related to its electronic health record implementation were revealed, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) asked the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for information on the ONC's processes to ensure compliance with the government's Promoting Interoperability program before paying out incentives. (Livingston, 3/22)
The New York Times:
Depressed And Anxious? These Video Games Want To Help
In the coming adventure video game Sea of Solitude, the main character — a young woman named Kay — navigates a partly submerged city as she faces a multitude of red-eyed scaly creatures. None are as terrifying as her own personal demons. As the game progresses, Kay realizes the creatures she is encountering are humans who turned into monsters when they became too lonely. To save herself, she fights to overcome her own loneliness. (Parker, 3/24)
The New York Times:
Reading To Your Toddler? Print Books Are Better Than Digital Ones
As a supporter of reading with children and a fan of traditional print books, I cannot say I am entirely surprised by the results of new research suggesting that print books are the best way to go when reading with young children. Reading books is one of the great and ongoing pleasures of my life, and although I read all kinds of things on screens, I cling to the print book, the paper book, or what we all secretly call “the book-book.” (Klass, 3/25)
