Using My Health Record data to assist with mental health issues

A trial of the AI² software program, developed by digital health experts at Flinders University, will get underway with a community mental health clinic in Gawler, north of Adelaide, with support from local psychiatrists.
 
Patients in the Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network will be the first to trial the new program, which is billed as the first use of My Health Record to promote self-management safeguards for people experiencing issues of mental health.
 
The AI² software program (AI² represents ‘actionable in-time insights’, or ‘AI-squared’) compares Medicare data from My Health Record against standard care plans. It is designed to allow early intervention in order to prevent relapse and hospitalisation.
 
‘It adds value to the usual care, as it will promote more timely communication and support for people in their treatment needs, remembering appointments with their GPs and their medication, and occasional extra help with their condition,’ Dr Jörg Strobel, senior consultant psychiatrist at SA Country Health’s Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network clinic, said.
 
‘We see it as a vital safety net for people living in the local community.’
 
According to Associate Professor Niranjan Bidargaddi, from Flinders Digital Health Centre, the AI² software program will help patients stay connected with healthcare professionals as they ‘transition from care back into the community’.
 
‘Our healthcare systems rely on the consumer to follow their care plans, and to recognise when they are not well and make an appointment,’ he said. ‘But many people can fall through the cracks, particularly if they do not have a support network to avoid the traumatic experience of relapse and hospitalisation.’

Australia mental health ehealth My Health Record South