MentalHealthDigitalInnovationChallenge

MentalHealthDigitalInnovationChallenge

MedStartr grew out of the New York Health Innovation Meetup Group, also called Health 2.0 NYC or just H2NYC.  H2NYC has been creating live events intended to foster an ecosystem around healthcare innovation since 2008.  We also have been recording them, livestreaming them, and publishing them online since 2010. Today our events bring the crowd to crowdfunding all over the World, jumpstarting healthcare innovation ecosystems everywhere we go.  To learn more about how we can help your organization or municipality please contact us.

Are we using technology in the field of mental health?



Barriers to care

1. Cost
2. Uncertainty about insurance coverage
3. Accessibility  (difficulty in finding care)
4. Societal stigma about therapy.

UPLIFT
The innovation challenge and answer

Smart phone based, and readily available for a one time fee of $ 10.00 Inexpensive, and scalable.
It uses a proven evidence based therapeutic process  CBT  (cognitive based therapy). CBT is the most evidence based therapy in development for 50 years. There have been 19 randomized controlled studies of computeried programs for depressed adults. Over 50% of people needing therapy for major depression do not get it. And only one in five received APA standardized treatment.

Uplift is an adaptive treatment. It if flexible and follows exactly the practice pattern of CBT, and assigns homework to the patient, verifying their progress.

At the current time there are no programs such as this available on the iTunes store or Google Play.

The need is apparent.  There are 12 million clinically depressed individuals who have access to a smart phone.

U.S mental health care $147 billion/year

Can therapy be computerized ?  According to Psious, a hardware/software combination Virtual Reality applicatioin is already being used by psychotherapists to duplicate anxiety producing scenarios (anxiety, phobias such as agrophobia), During the process behavioral modification takes place.

Biofeedback Module

VR Headset and Smartphone

Courage is  a novel game playing platform for the treament of depression

A Test of Courage

These programs are still in the developer stages.  The efficacy of the program often is not apparent or proven to be credible. Developers must submit their applications using verified studies, published in a credible medical journal to be accepted by providers (physicians). Thereapeutic process may require FDA approval.  These steps take time, and are essential to any hope of success.