AI use in mental health care sees mixed response
The introduction of artificial intelligence in mental health care has been met with mixed reactions.
Mental health care providers and researchers expressed concern over the adoption of AI among both large health systems and independent therapists, according to a news article from NPR. They noted that the use of the technology has stoked fears over unfair labor practices and replacement as well as the risks its use could pose among patients.
For instance, some mental health care workers serving as licensed triage clinicians and conducting screenings in telepsychiatry were recently replaced with telephone service operators lacking professional qualifications, a downsizing effort that could signal an AI overhaul in the future. The move incited a 24-hour strike of nearly 2,400 mental health care workers.
Thus far, experts cited in the article detailed that no mental health care workers have been replaced with AI. Some providers have welcomed AI tools into their practices to automate administrative and time-consuming tasks such as recording transcripts, supporting documentation and paperwork, billing insurance companies and updating electronic health records — thereby leaving them more time to focus on patient care. Further, some AI assistants have been trained in evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy to provide direct patient support at larger health systems. However, because of limited testing and safety data, high costs and inadequate regulations, AI platforms haven’t yet been used for clinical purposes.
The experts emphasized that AI will more than likely be used to provide a hybrid or blended model of mental health care, in which human providers would treat the patients and AI tools would aid patients in fulfilling their care outside of the clinical setting and reporting real-time results to providers. They concluded that involving mental health care providers in the development of AI tools could help improve their safety and efficacy.
Read more: NPR
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