Affiliations: [a] National HealthCare Group, Singapore | [b] Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore | [c] Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada | [d] Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Melvyn W.B. Zhang, National Addictions Management Service, 10 Buangkok Green Medical Park, 539747, Singapore. Tel.: +65 63892504; Fax: +65 63892222; E-mail:melvynzhangweibin@gmail.com
Abstract: Over the past decade, there have been massive advances in technology. These
advances in technology have significantly transformed various aspects of
healthcare. The advent of E-health and its influence on healthcare practice
also implies that there is a paradigm shift in the way healthcare
professionals work. Conventionally, healthcare professionals would have to
refer to books and journals for updates in treatment algorithms, but with
the advent of technology, they could access this information via the web or
via various smartphone applications on the go. In the field of Psychiatry,
one of the commonest mental health disorder to date, with significant
morbidity and mortality is that of Major depressive disorder. Routinely,
clinicians and healthcare professionals are advised to refer to standard
guidelines in guiding them with regards to their treatment options. Given
the high prevalence of conditions like Major Depressive Disorder, it is thus
of importance that whatever guidelines that clinicians and healthcare
professionals refer to are constantly kept up to date, so that patients
could benefit from latest evidence based therapy and treatment. A review of
the current literature highlights that whilst there are a multitude of
smartphone applications designed for mental health care, previous systematic
review has highlighted a paucity of evidence based applications. More
importantly, current literature with regards to provision of treatment
information to healthcare professionals and patients are limited to
web-based interventions. It is the aim of this technical
note to highlight a methodology to which the authors have conceptualized in
the implementation of an evidence based mental health guideline
applications, known as the `Wiki Guidelines' smartphone application. The
authors hope to illustrate the algorithms behind the development of the
application, and how it could be easily updated by the guidelines working
group.
Keywords: Smartphone, mobile phone, applications, psychiatry, treatment algorithms
