Smartphones for Smarter Care? Self-Management in Schizophrenia

This case report highlights the role apps have in psychiatric treatment, both within and outside a clinical setting. Patients are increasingly becoming more informed and proactive about their mental health care and many are seeking technology-oriented and self-directed treatment options. In the next decade, it will be up to the clinicalcommunity to see that such technology is implemented as part of a reliable mental health standard of care. Emerging challenges include inappropriate app content, scarcity of technical expertise, lack of regulation and standardization, privacy issues, and variable navigability. Increasing technological literacy will be important for frontline clinicians who wish to help patients make informed decisions about the risks and benefits of digital psychiatry tools like smartphone apps. More research is needed to establish the efficacy of apps in mental health treatment.