This topic has been identified by the NICE-NHS England Digital Prioritisation Subgroup as a priority clinical area to address growing unmet need in mental health services for people for whom NHS Talking Therapies is suitable.
1 in 4 adults experiences a diagnosable mental health condition in any given year. However, only around 20% of those are referred to NHS Talking Therapies. Of those referred, around 67% get access to NHS Talking Therapies. The services are not suitable for some people’s needs, and they are therefore not offered treatment. Digital services may make it possible to improve patients' choice and appropriate access to mental health care. Demand for treatments for common mental health conditions is increasing, but there are insufficient resources (mental health practitioners/clinicians) to meet this demand.
Digital front door technologies involve online referral, with the majority being self-referrals and some through GPs, along with additional information gathering to inform the 1-to-1 patient-centred assessment that must occur before the start of treatment. This is intended to improve efficiency and accuracy of the assessment. The process of sharing information via a digital front door technology may help a service user consider what they want or need to share and prepare for the assessment, as well as feel engaged earlier in the process. As NHS Talking Therapies assessments are typically relatively short already, the key possible benefits of digital front door technologies are to improve the quality and accuracy of the assessment, reduce the administration time for the assessor, and increase opportunities to provide people with the right treatment choices first time.
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Status
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In progress
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Technology type
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Diagnostic
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Decision
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Awaiting decision
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Provisional Schedule
| Scoping workshop |
11 November 2024 |
| Committee meeting: 1 |
12 March 2025 |
| Diagnostics consultation |
10 April 2025 - 28 April 2025 |
| Expected publication |
23 June 2025 |
Project Team
| Project lead |
Deonee Stanislaus |
Email enquiries
| External Assessment Group |
Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group, University of Liverpool |
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Date
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Update
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28 August 2024
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Launch |
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28 August 2024
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In progress |
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13 December 2023
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Topic selection. Topic going ahead |
For further information on our processes and methods, please see our CHTE processes and methods manual