On Saturday Nov 20, 2021, John Curtin presented at TEDxOshkosh a talk entitled “Digital Therapeutics: Mental Healthcare at our Fingertips”.
Our mental healthcare system has serious flaws. Treatments are expensive, access is limited, outcomes are modest at best, and large disparities exist by race, class, and geography.
Two technological innovations may fundamentally shift how we support people with mental illness. Digital therapeutics can provide highly scalable, cost efficient treatment and other supports that are available 24/7 without geographic constraints. Personal sensing allows digital therapeutics to deliver supports that are tailored to the specific needs of the person and the moment in time. These innovations are just now possible given the ubiquity and computing power of today’s smartphones.
This talk explores the opportunities that these two innovations provide and the obstacles that must be overcome to reduce mental health disparities and improve outcomes for everyone.
To read the transcript of this talk, click here.