Using apps in clinical practice: 8 studies

Abstract

COVID-19’s increased demand on the mental health care delivery system led to expanded utilization of technology-based solutions, including digital tools to deliver care.1 Technologybased solutions include both synchronous telehealth (eg, real-time interactive audio/ video visits) and asynchronous tools such as smartphone applications (apps). Both real-time telehealth and apps continue to gain popularity. More than 10,000 mental health–related apps are available, and that number continues to rise.2 Numerous webor mobile-based apps are available to aid in the treatment of various psychiatric conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), major depressive disorder, insomnia, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clinicians may find it challenging to choose the best psychiatry-related apps to recommend to patients. This dilemma calls for an approach to help clinicians select apps that are safe and effective.2 The American Psychiatric Association provides information to help mental health professionals navigate these issues and identify which aspects to consider when selecting an app for clinical use.3 The M-Health Index and Navigation Database also provides a set of objective evaluative criteria and offers guidance on choosing apps.4 In this article, we review 8 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mental health– related apps. We took several steps to ensure the RCTs we included were impactful and meaningful. First, we conducted a general search using mainstream search engines to assess which psychiatric apps were most popular for use in clinical practice. Using this list, we conducted a scholarly search engine query of RCTs using the name of the apps as a search parameter along with the following keywords: “mobile,” “web,” “applications,” and “psychiatry.” This search yielded approximately 50 results, which were narrowed down based on content and interest to a list of 8 articles (Table,5-12 page 38). These articles were then graded using the limitations of each study as the primary substrate for evaluation.